


Sins and Virtues

by FiveDollarMixtape



Series: The Revolution Was His Sin [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: But I still think the first part is fun to read, Other, Prophecies, Sort of a crossover but it'll get more in depth on that later, The actual story doesn't start for a while, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-04-25 08:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 38
Words: 38,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4953388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiveDollarMixtape/pseuds/FiveDollarMixtape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wolf lives in The Tribe of Hidden Envy.  Her dream is to be a Prey Hunter for her Sin Tribe, and her life ahead of her is full of loss and despair.  Wolf that Howls at High Moon is a cat who was born like any other, but died like no other.</p><p>REWRITING</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Allegiances

**T R I B E  O F  H I D D E N  E N V Y**  
  
**Healer-  Envy that Causes Death (Envy):**  
Light brown tom with bright, leaf green eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-  Dawn Coming Through Sky (Dawn): **  
Creamy brown she-cat with large amber eyes.   
  
**River Running Through Narrow Glen (River):**  
Small, white and silver tabby she cat with shining blue eyes.  
  
**Willow in the Shadow Forest (Willow):**  
Black she cat with one green eye and one blue eye.  
  
**Stone Jutting from Grass (Stone):**  
Fast, gray tom with amber eyes.  
  
**Night where Animals Creep (Night):**  
Small, black she cat .  
  
**Screech that Echoes Loudly (Screech):**  
Gray and black tabby she cat with green eyes.  
  
**Glow of Stars Above (Glow):**  
Snow white she cat with amber eyes.  
  
**Cave-Guards-  Fern that Hangs in Willow (Fern):**   
Dark brown, muscular tom with dark green eyes.  
  
**Hiss of Startled Viper (Hiss):**  
Dark gray tom with green eyes.  
  
**Flower that Blooms in Shade (Flower):**  
Strong, light colored she cat with amber eyes.  
  
**Cloud that Shields the Sun (Cloud):**  
Light gray she cat with dark eyes.  
  
**Fang that Glints in Light (Fang):**  
Ill-tempered, black and white tabby tom with dark blue eyes.  
  
**Storm that Howls with Wind (Storm):**  
Gray and white tom with green eyes. Former loner.  
  
**Strike of Silent Lightning (Strike):**  
Small, brown she cat with pale, seemingly blind eyes. Former loner.  
  
**To-Be's-  Leaf that Cause Water’s Ripples (Leaf):**  
Brown and black she-cat with clear, blue eyes. (Prey-Hunter)  
  
**Water that Shimmers with Light (Water):**  
Blue gray tom. (Cave-Guard)  
  
**Breeze that Cools Night (Breeze):**  
White and gray tabby she cat (Cave-Guard).  
  
**Stripes that Mark our Ancestors (Stripes):**  
Gray tom (Cave-Guard)  
  
**Kit-Mothers-  Wind that Stirs Fallen Leaves (Wind):**  
Silver she cat with green eyes. Mother of Moon, Dew, and Ash.  
  
**Ice that Stopped Water (Ice):**  
White and blue gray she cat with bright amber eyes. Mother of Wolf, Song, and Leopard.  
  
**Kits-  Moon in Lands Unknown (Moon):**  
Silver she cat with blue eyes.  
  
**Dew on Colored Leaves (Dew):**  
Black she cat with green eyes.  
  
**Ash of Fleeing Fire (Ash):**  
Silver tom with dark green eyes.  
  
**Wolf that Howls at High Moon (Wolf):**  
Gray she cat with black paws and ears with amber eyes.  
  
**Song that Plays with Mountain Wind (Song):**  
Silver she cat with black paws and tail tip with amber eyes.  
  
**Leopard that Plays in Snow (Leopard):**  
Orange tom with black paws and dark, amber eyes.  
  
**T R I B E  O F  S A C R E D  W R A T H**  
  
**Healer-  Wrath of Fallen Ancestor's (Wrath):**  
Light gray she cat with black flecks and blue eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-  Crow of Early Dawn (Crow):**  
Dark gray she cat with dark blue eyes.  
  
**Shadow that Flickers in Stars (Shadow):**  
Black she cat with one green eye and one amber eye.   
  
**Lark that Sings at Night (Lark):**  
White she cat with green eyes.  
  
**Jade that Gleams in Moonlight (Jade):**  
Amber she cat with a white muzzle, white ears, and a white tail.  
  
**Owl that Hunts in Night (Owl):**  
Gray tom with black flecks and amber eyes.  
  
**Anger of Fallen Gods (Anger):**  
Black tom with rare red eyes and orange paws.  
  
**Cave-Guards-  Harmony of Falling Snow (Harmony):**   
White and light gray she cat with bright green eyes.  
  
**Snake in Constricting Vines (Snake):**  
Gray tom with dark green eyes.  
  
**Paws of New Rains (Paws):**  
Brown tom with black flecks under his eyes with dark eyes.  
  
**Howl Heard from Branches (Howl):**  
Dark brown tom with light blue eyes.  
  
**Orchid that Grows with Stone (Orchid):**  
Gray she cat with strange, purple eyes.   
  
**To-Be's-  Pool of Falling Stones (Pool):**  
Blue gray she cat with blue eyes and a silver tip of her tail (Prey-Hunter)  
  
**Smoke from Blazing Fire (Smoke):**  
Gray tom with amber eyes (Cave-Guard)  
  
**Crest:**  
A white she cat with gray eyes and gray tail.  Former loner.  **(A/N Named after a brand of toothpaste because one of my friends thought that I said toothpaste when I asked if she wanted to make a to-be)**  
  
**Kit-Mothers-  Whistle from Distant Bird (Whistle)**  
Dark gray she cat with blue eyes.  
  
**Elders-  Fire Burning in Untold Rage (Fire)**  
Small orange she cat. Former rouge.  
  
**Petal of Dying Rose (Petal):**  
White and light gray tabby she cat with amber eyes  
  
**T R I B E  O F  F A T A L  P R I D E**  
  
**Healer-**   **Pride that Speaks Before Soul (Pride):**  
Black tom with gray eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-  Brook where Water Flows (Brook):**  
Small, gray she cat with blue eyes.  
  
**Light that Breaks all Darkness (Light):**  
White she cat with bright blue eyes.  
  
**Blood that Falls from Open Wound (Wound):**  
Dark orange tom with amber eyes.  
  
**Cave-Guards-  Claw that Cuts Deeply (Claw):**  
Dark gray tom with amber eyes.  
  
**Scratch that Leaves Scar (Scratch):**  
Gray tabby tom green eyes.  
  
**Scar that Marks the Skin (Scar):**  
Small, black she cat with bright amber eyes.  
  
**To-Be’s-**  
  
**T R I B E  O F  L O N E L Y  G R E E D**  
  
**Healer-**   **Greed that Steals the Spirit (Greed):**  
Old, white and gray tom with wise, green eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-  Rabbit that Runs Fast (Rabbit):**

A brown and white tabby tom with green eyes

**River that Slides over Stones (River):**

A burly, gray tom with bright blue eyes

**Last Blaze of Dying Heart (Blaze):**

A tortiseshell she-cat with bright amber eyes.

**Long Practiced Step to Capture Enemy (Step):**

A light gray tom with darker paws and green eyes

**Place that You May Never Return (Never):**

A white she-cat with dark brown paws, ears, rings around her legs, and chest with dark eyes.  
  
**Cave Guards- Moss that Settles on Rock (Moss):**

A silver she-cat with sleek fur and white paws and amber eyes

**Leaf that Floats in Wind (Wind):**

A tortieshell she-cat with white paws and amber eyes

**Light that is Missing from Sky (Light):**

A pitch black she-cat with green eyes and one, white fore paw.

**Aspen that Fell in Honorable Battle (Aspen):**

A black she-cat with a dark gray tail, gray ears, and blue eyes.

**A Home that Never Was (Home):**

A light brown tabby with cream paws, belly, and chest and rare, golden eyes.

**To-Bes-** **Crimson Dripping Wish Gone Wrong (Crimson):**

A black tom with a gray chest, tail and ear tips with rare, red eyes (Cave Guard)

 **T R I B E  O F  E M P T Y  G L U T T O N Y**  
  
**Healer-** **Gluttony that Takes Life (Gluttony):**    
Pure white she cat with sad, green eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-** **Snake that Curls Before Attack (Snake):**

A black and light gray tabby she-cat

**Call that Echos Across Stone (Call):**

A lithe white tom with blue eyes

**Talon that Grips Unaware Animal (Talon):**

A white and brown tabby with dark eyes

**Rain that Falls from Cloud High Above (Rain):**

A silver and blue-gray tabby she-cat

**Well Placed Pounce that Catches Prey (Pounce):**

A white she-cat with gray ears and paws

**  
Cave Guards-** **Pebble Thrown into Rushing Water (Pebble):**

A light gray she-cat with black paws, ears and markings around her dark eyes

**Shade Cast by Falling Branch (Branch):**

A dark gray tom

**Blaze Surrounding Graceful Vixen (Vixen):**

A long legged, russet she-cat with black paws and ears with a white chest, belly, tail tip, and one blue eye and one green eye

**Evening Sun Casting Final Shadows (Evening):**

A white she-cat with black patches and tail with amber eyes

**Never Melting Snow Frozen onto Paws (Snow):**

A black tom with a white chest, paws and whiskers with amber eyes **  
  
To-Be’s-**  
  
**T R I B E  O F  L O S T  L U S T**  
  
**Healer-**   **Lust Hidden in Eyes (Lust):**  
Small, quiet, and wise gray tabby she cat.  
  
**Prey-Hunters-** **Pixie that is Blind to Passionate Heart (Pixie):**  
Small, black she cat with topaz eyes.  
  
**Soul that Thrives in Smoky Darkness (Darkness):**  
Black she cat with two pale stripes that stop at her cheeks like tears and rare, violet eyes.  
  
**Broken Heart of Rejected Lover (Broken):**  
Brown she cat with icy blue eyes.  
  
**Cave Guards-** **Heart that Struggles to Contain Fiery Passion (Passion):**  
Flame colored, orange she cat with red tipped fur and blazing orange eyes.  
  
**To-Be’s-** **Return of The Bugs (Return):**  
A black eyed, black furred she cat with two strange bald spots covering her ears and the side of her head (Cave Guard)

**Lizard that Lies in Sun (Lizard):**

A red tom with a white face and green eyes, has multiple personalities (Prey-Hunter)  
  
**T R I B E  O F  P E A C E F U L  S L O T H**  
  
**Healer-**   **Sloth that Lays in Sun (Sloth):**    
Black tom with white paws and amber eyes.  
  
**Prey-Hunters- Nut that Falls Close to Tree (Nut):**

A two toned, tan tom with a white belly and paws.  He has a striping pattern on his back, and brown eyes with short claws.

**War that All Are Part of (War):**

A white she-cat with a black tail and patches and amber eyes

**High Sun Casting Never Ending Light (Sun):**

A black tom with a white chest and paws, with more white on his hind legs and amber eyes

**Amber that Refuses to Move (Amber)**

A ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Echo of Past Lives Reduced to Dust (Echo):**

A gray she-cat with a black paw and blue, blind looking eyes  
  
**Cave Guards-** **Black as Dark Rock with Sun Reflecting Back (Black):**

A black tom with white underfur, with yellow eyes and long claws.

**Smoke that Rises During Morning Mist (Smoke):**

Usually called Smokey.  A black and white tom with gray tips of his fur.

**Unsettling Silence when there Should be Noise (Silence):**

A black tom with white toes and chest, with amber eyes

**Lone Bird in Pine Forest (Lone):**

A white she-cat with bright blue eyes

**Thorn Hidden Within the Roses (Thorn)**

A ginger cat with one green eye and one blue eye with cream paws

**Unexpected Hero Painted Crimson (Hero):**

A russet tom with black paws, ears and markings around his dark eyes

**Blood Dripping off of Rose (Blood):**

A light brown cat with white patches  
  
** To-Be’s- Feather that Drifts on the Wind (Feather):**

A brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes (Prey-Hunter)

**Red Sky on the Horizon (Red):**

A red tabby tom with amber eyes (Cave Guard)  
  
**I'm taking OC's, so leave them in the comments! But I won't take them for The Tribe of Hidden Envy.  Here's the form:**  
  
**Name:**  
**Gender:**  
**Personality:**  
**Looks:**  
**Tribe:**  
**Rank:**  
**Other:**  
  
_Passion, Pixie, Darkness, and Broken kindly submitted by MegaNerd on Fanfiction.net  
_

_Anger and Crest kindly submitted by wo6koppo over Skype._

_Ember kindly submitted by Ivyleap of SkyClan over Fanfiction.net_

_Return and Lizard kindly submitted by Letusdance over Fanficton.net_

_Feather and Red kindly submitted by A over Fanficiton.net_

_Rabbit and Moss kindly submitted by Blackstar is Awesome over Fanfiction.net_

_River and Wind kindly submitted by SageandSky over Fanfiction.net_

_Smoke, Nut, and Black kindly submitted by GinnyStar over Archive of Our Own_


	2. Prologue

THE MOUNTAIN WIND WAS COLD AND harsh, threatening to blow anything and everything off of the snow and stone. The half moon glowed brightly, casting light upon the stoney ground. There was barely any life, only paw steps that covered the snow and the sound of a large bird in the distance. The wind blew snow around, covering the paw prints. As if it was trying to hide and protect the mountain’s inhabitance. A small hole was in the side of the mountain, only noticeable by the tree casting shade above it.

Inside was the entrance to a large cave that harbored many cats. It protected them from the harsh winds and was warmed by their breath. Their fur was thick, and their hearing was more accurate than most cats because of the harsh winds they lived in. Their eyesight was also sharp because they had to be able to see the slightest movement on their territory and to see in the darkness of the caves that made up their dens.

These cats called themselves a tribe. They had named the tribe after of one of The Seven Deadly Sins, Envy. They lived with six other tribes, who had named themselves after another Sin. It was rumored that there was another group of seven tribes, named after The Seven Heavenly Virtues.

These seven Sin Tribes were always at odds with each other. They were fighting over territory, over prey, over which tribe was better than the other. There was only one thing that united them, their belief in The Tribe of Endless Hunting. Every full moon, the Sin Tribes would gather and share news as their ancestors had asked them to. This was to be a time of peace, and they didn’t dare anger the all powerful tribe above them. They wondered if the Virtue Tribes existed, did they do the same? Do they listen to The Tribe of Endless Hunting? It was only a brief thought, always shaken away by the thought that they had to take care of their own tribe, not worry about the Virtue Tribes.

The Tribe of Endless Hunting watched over the Sin Tribes, helping them as much as they could. The tribe Healer would often communicate with the tribe, and in return the tribe gave them advice to help the Healers. It could be as simple as a drop of water, telling them that the Time of Frozen Water was ending, or as complicated as a vision of a tiger leaping through fire.

The Sin Tribes themselves were divided into two separate parts, the Prey-Hunters and the Cave Guards. Cats who were fast and agile were Prey-Hunters, and cats who were strong and large were Cave Guards. The tribe Healer would also pick a kit who would become Healer after them, and train them in the ways of guiding and representing their tribe, speaking with The Tribe of Endless Hunting, and healing and caring for the sick and injured. After the Healer died, the to-be of the Healer would take on their name and lead and care for their tribe in their place. And so, the Sin Tribes lived on like that for thousands of generations.

* * *

A muffled yowl could be heard from inside a small, dark cavern. It echoed across the stone walls of the cave and quickly faded away. A brown tom was calming a white and blue gray she cat, her belly enlarged by unborn kits. Her amber eyes were filled with pain, while the brown tom’s own green eyes glittered with concentration. His paw was placed lightly on her belly, feeling her contractions.

“Not long now, Ice. Your first kit is coming.”

“Not soon enough,” she growled, her jaws clenched around a stick. She bit down as a small bundle of fur slid out of her. The brown tom nipped off the sack and started licking the orange fur the wrong way, trying to warm up the kit.

A silver she-cat stepped forward and took over licking the kit. It started mewing; the first feeling it experienced was hunger. Ice bit down harshly on the stick once again, a gray and black kit slipping out next. The tom followed the actions he had taken with the orange and black tom before a gray and white tom took over for him.

Ice bit down on the stick once again, leaving cracks in the wood. The last kit slid out, a silver and black one. Ice let herself relax as the brown tom licked the kit’s fur the wrong way. The gray and black kit started mewing, as well as the silver and black one. All three kits squirmed over to their mother and started suckling.

“You have one tom and two she kits,” the brown tom mewed to the queen. “Thank you, Storm, Wind,” he meowed, bowing his head to the two cats.

“You may be our Healer, but you can’t handle three kits on your own,” Wind purred, sitting up proudly as she watched the three kits. Soon, they would grow, and her own kits would have new kits to play with.

“She is right, Envy. You should take on a to-be soon,” Storm meowed, looking down at his exhausted mate. Envy shook his head.

“I will take on a to-be when The Tribe of Endless Hunting has sent me the next tribe Healer.” Ice lifted up her head. All three cats looked at her. She looked over all three of the kits before nodding to herself.

“This one,” she meowed, gesturing to the orange and black tom, “will be Leopard that Plays in Snow.” She gestured to the black and gray kit. “She will be Wolf that Howls at High Moon, and she-” she gestured to the final kit, “will be Song that Plays with Mountain Wind.”


	3. Songs, Leopards, and Wolves

A SMALL, GRAY AND BLACK KIT opened her amber eyes and yawned, showing her pure white fangs. An orange and black tom tackled her, sending her rolling across the nest. She let out a high pitched squeak as her brother mrowed in laughter. “Leopard!” she whined, her amber eyes shining in annoyance. Leopard was wearing a cat-ish smile.   
  
“Good morning, Wolf!” he meowed, pinning down his sister. A silver and gray kit shook her head as she watched her two siblings from the edge of the next. Wolf turned her head to look at her.  
  
“Good morning, Song,” she meowed. Song nodded at her. Wolf squirmed out from under her brother. She ignored her ruffled fur as she tilted her head at her sister. Before she could say anything, Leopard led the way out of the den.   
  
“C’mon, let’s go!” Wolf and Song glanced at each other before following their brother into the main cave. Sunlight was filtering through the hole in the roof of the cave that made up the entrance, which lit up the pond in the center of the cave. The sun’s reflections rippled in the water, sending them across the cave in a silvery light. Stepping stones were in the water, which made it easier to get around the camp if a cat could leap far enough. A large boulder was in the middle of the pond with a few feet of rock surrounding it, perfect for a few cats to sit on for ceremonies.  
  
A few yards of stone surrounded the outside of the pond, where cats would pad around the pond to get to the different dens in the cave. Leopard’s tail flicked as he turned towards his littermates. “Hey, what do you two want to be?” he asked. The two sister’s ears stood up straight.   
  
“What do you mean?” Song asked.   
  
“You know, do you want to be a Cave Guard or a Prey-Hunter?” Leopard asked. “I want to be a Cave Guard!”  
  
“I want to be a Prey-Hunter,” Wolf mewed. She looked at Song.   
  
“So do I,” she meowed.   
  
“You two are gonna leave me alone?” Leopard asked.   
  
“We don’t get to choose, remember? Envy will choose for us,” the silver and black she cat meowed.   
  
“Well, I’m sure that I’ll be a Cave Guard! See, watch this!” Leopard leapt for Song, sending both of them tumbling. They rolled into the shallow water of the pool before Leopard jumped to the dry stone. Song quickly followed the orange tom. Water dripped down from their fur and onto the gray stone.   
  
Leopard let out a shiver. “That’s cold!” he meowed. Song nodded in agreement.   
  
“I’ll go get Ice,” Wolf meowed. She turned towards the nursery before Song stopped her.  
  
“No, you don’t need to. We just have to groom it out of our fur, right?”   
  
Wolf and Leopard thought for a few seconds. “I guess so,” Leopard meowed. Wolf nodded in agreement.   
  
“You should groom yourself, too. Your fur looks like you dragged it through a thorn bush,” Song meowed, glaring at her sister.   
  
“You’re no fun, Song,” Wolf complained, but listened to her. She started smoothing down her fur while her two siblings washed the water out of their fur.   
  
When they were done, Leopard looked at Song. “I’m totally going to become a Cave Guard, right Song?” he asked. Song nodded.  
  
“You’re stronger than Moon,” she meowed.   
  
“And she’s two moons older than us!” Wolf added. Leopard sat up proudly, holding his head high.   
  
“This is why I’m definitely going to be a Cave Guard!” he meowed.  
  
“Don’t make me shove you into the water again,” Wolf growled.   
  
“Go ahead and tr- AH!” he was cut off by Wolf speeding at him, sending him into the pond with a splash, along with herself. _It was worth it!_  she thought as she surfaced. Her fur had darkened to a darker color, and felt heavier than before. She shook some of the water out of her pelt before she stepped out of the water.   
  
Song shook her head again. Leopard surfaced and glared at Wolf before growling at her. He leapt for her, sending both of them tumbling across the stone. The water from their pelts darkened the stone beneath the kits as it dripped off of their fur.  
  
The three kits heard a yawn as a larger silver she cat left the nursery. All three turned looked at her as she opened her sleepy blue eyes. “Good morning!” Leopard meowed. Song nodded her head in greeting.   
  
“Hey, Moon!” Wolf meowed. Moon purred.   
  
“Where’s Ash and Dew?” Song asked. Moon flicked her tail towards the nursery.   
  
“They’re still in the nursery,” she meowed.   
  
“They usually get up sooner, don’t they?” Wolf asked. Moon nodded.   
  
“They were up pretty late last night,” the silver she-cat mewed.   
  
“What were they doing?” Leopard asked. Moon shrugged.  
  
“They didn’t tell me since I wouldn’t join in.”   
  
“Do you think they snuck out of the cave?” Leopard asked. The other three kits had surprised looks on their faces.   
  
“How would they get past the Cave Guards?” Song asked.  
  
“I don’t know,” Wolf meowed. “But it might be possible.”  
  
“That’s so cool!” Leopard meowed.  
  
“We should ask them to take us next time!” Moon meowed. Wolf and Leopard nodded in agreement, while Song hesitated.   
  
“Song? Are you going to come?” Song thought for a few moments before she slowly nodded.  
  
“Great! Now we have to wait for them to wake up!” Leopard meowed.  
  
“Why wait?” Wolf asked, a mischievous look on her face.   
  
Moon shook her head. “They’d never bring you with if you woke them up.” Wolf dropped her head and ears in disappointment.  
  
“I’m sure they’ll be awake soon,” Song mewed. Wolf nodded. Leopard nudged the gray and black she kit. She looked up at him.   
  
“At least you tried,” he mewed. Wolf nodded and let out a shiver and pressed herself closer to her larger brother.


	4. Wolf's First Song

WOLF, MOON, AND SONG CROUCHED JUST outside the nursery, waiting for Dew and Ash to come out. Wolf and Moon hid in the shadows, looking as if they were full grown cats and had done this all their lives. Song’s crouch was sloppy, but she was still well hidden in the shadows. Leopard sat outside the nursery, a glitter in his amber eyes as he waited for the two siblings.

It didn’t take long for the two strong kits emerged from the nursery. One of them was a black she cat with drowsy blue eyes. A silver tom followed closely, closing his green eyes from a yawn. Leopard ran at them, leaving both of the kits with an amused look on their faces. Wolf, Moon, and Song launched themselves at the kits, taking them off guard.

Wolf and Moon landed on Ash and Dew’s backs, happiness glittering in their eyes. Song landed short, but she surprised Ash and made him stumble to the side. He crashed into Dew, sending all four cats tumbling across the stone. Wolf and Moon sat up proudly.

“There! We won, so you have to tell us what you were doing last night!” Moon meowed.

“Since when?” Dew asked, standing up and shaking herself.

“Since we won,” Song mewed from behind the two kits.

“We didn’t agree to anything!” Ash meowed.

“But you have to tell us, since we won,” Wolf meowed.

“Yeah! Did you sneak out of the cave?” Leopard asked.

“Quiet down!” Dew and Ash hissed. Ash sat up as Moon, Leopard, Wolf, and Song crowded closer. Ash nodded.

“Yeah, we did.”

“What was it like?” Song asked.

“It was… cold. And big. And awesome!” Dew meowed.

“You should take us!” Wolf whispered. Dew and Ash looked at each other.

“Why not?” Ash mewed. Dew nodded in agreement.

“What are you planning?” The kits jumped at the sound of a voice behind them. All three of them turned towards a silver she cat. Her green eyes glared suspiciously at the kits.

“Nothing!” All of them chorused. Her tail flicked, obviously not believing the six kits.

“And there’s a fish in the pond,” she mewed. Wolf and Leopard’s ears pricked.

“Really!?” they asked, surging over to the water.

“Do you think we scared it when we jumped in?” Leopard asked.

“Nah, the fish has to be brave to live in the pond!” Wolf meowed. Their eyes searched through the water.

“Wolf, Leopard, there is no fish,” Song mewed. Both of them looked over their shoulders at the cats behind them.

“What?” they asked.

“Why would you lie to us like that, Wind!?” Leopard asked.

“I wanted to see a fish,” Wolf whined, her ears dropping in disappointment. Wind purred in amusement.

“You two keep the cave lively,” she meowed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wolf growled.

“Absolutely nothing,” Wind meowed, going towards a patch of sunlight to warm her fur.

“We’ll leave at Sun Down, right when the Cave Guards switch out,” Dew meowed. Moon, Song, Wolf, and Leopard nodded.

* * *

Wolf followed Dew and Ash quietly as they slinked through the shadows. Moon and Wolf slinked behind them gracefully, while Leopard would have stuck out like a rose in the snow if he wasn’t copying his sister’s abilities the best he could. Song followed better than Leopard did, but she still stood out among the rest. Dew was relying on her dark pelt while Ash used the same strategy that Leopard was using.

Wolf’s amber eyes flicked around the cave that was lit up with orange from the setting sun. The silvery ripples on the ceiling were replaced with golden ones. She watched as two Cave Guards, who she recognized as Stripes and Fang. The six kits quickly ran out of the cave, their paws touching the white snow beneath them.

Dew and Ash led the way above the entrance to the cave. Wolf lifted her paws, not used to the cold and wet snow. Her amber eyes glittered with excitement as she trailed through it. Leopard rolled around, the snow clinging to his orange fur. Wolf laughed. “You’re turning into a snow leopard!”

Leopard looked at her. “Then, let’s make you a white wolf!” he meowed, then leapt at her. He pinned down the gray and black she cat. Wolf let out a cat-ish smile as she batted her paws at her brother’s face.

Song leapt on her brother. Leopard stumbled off of Wolf, letting her sit up. Wolf purred as she saw her silver and black sister finally let herself have some fun. Moon stopped next to Wolf and looked down at her. “You want to be a Prey-Hunter, right?” she asked. Wolf nodded. “I saw how good you were at hiding when we were waiting for Dew and Ash. Envy would be a bird brain no to let you become a Prey-Hunter.”

Wolf purred in delight at Moon’s words. “What about you? I heard that you want to be a Cave Guard,” she meowed.

Moon nodded. “But I don’t think that I’ll be one. I’m weaker than Leopard, and he’s two moons younger than me.”

“You might get stronger. If The Tribe of Endless Hunting wants you to be a Cave Guard, then you’ll be a Cave Guard,” Wolf meowed.

Moon purred. “You’re starting to sound smart,” she meowed.

“I learned it from Song,” Wolf told her. Dew and Ash crashed into the two chatting kits. Wolf and Moon were crushed under their weight. The four kits quickly stood up.

Moon glared at her two siblings. “Oh, It. Is. On,” she growled. Dew and Ash started running through the snow with Moon on their heels. Wolf laughed and followed her. She heard Leopard and Song following behind her.

The six kits dragged their paws through the snow, clumps of it sticking to their thick fur. Dew and Ash led the way across the snowy mountain, driven on with Moon and Wolf on their heels. Song and Leopard joined in on the chase, lagging behind the four kits in front of them.

Moon leapt forward, landing on Ash’s back and dragging him down into the snow. Wolf followed her actions on Dew. All four kits tumbled in the snow. All six of the kits were panting heavily. Wolf laid next to the black she cat on her back, looking up at the starry sky.

“That was fun,” Dew meowed. Song nodded in agreement. Wolf sat up and fluffed out her fur, warming herself up. The kits sat up with her, stretching a bit.

“We should head back soon,” Ash meowed. The other kits nodded in agreement. The silver tom was about to lead the way back when he froze as the kits heard a slightly familiar sound. The sound of a wolf’s howl. The sound was distant, and echoed across the stone of the mountains. It had to be from miles away; many mountains away from the mountains that belonged to the Sin Tribes.

All the kits but Wolf seemed scared and backed away, while Wolf was entranced by the sound. She could hear a song in the howl, a song that told a story of sorrow, disparity, loss, and faith. Wolf padded closer to the sound. She ignored Song, who was asking her to go back to camp with her and the other kits. Instead of listening to her, she lifted her head and let out a yowl in response. The howl stopped, as if the wolf was listening to her own yowl. The howl joined in with her after a few seconds.

Wolf had never felt better. Not when she was playing with her littermates, or when Storm came to visit her in the nursery. She was singing a song with an animal that she had never even seen before, and she couldn’t be happier.


	5. Adventure Back Home

WOLF TURNED BACK TOWARDS HER LITTERMATES once the howling had ended. “Wolf, what was that?” Ash asked, his voice shaking. “You sounded like an actual wolf! Well, still like a cat, but like a wolf!”   
  
“I did?” she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.   
  
“It was so cool!” Moon meowed, her eyes shining. Song, Dew, and Ash were keeping their distance from the gray and black she kit, still startled by what they had heard and seen.   
  
“C’mon, we should go back to the cave,” Ash mewed. Without waiting for a response, he turned and led the way back. The other kits followed him closely. They were silent as they trecked through the snow. Wolf’s small paws were starting to get sore. Her thick and slick fur had turned white with the snow clinging to her pelt.   
  
Ash crouched down close to the cave entrance. The other kits followed his lead and watched the two Cave Guards, Hiss and Water, waiting for them to switch. Wolf and Song crept forward, relying on the snow in their fur to not be noticed.   
  
“Song! Wolf!” Moon hissed. She sighed, then followed the two other kits. The Cave Guards stood and disappeared inside the cave. The six kits took off in a sprint towards the entrance, quickly going into an unused crevice in the wall of the cave. The entrance was too small for full grown cats, but big enough for the kits. Inside, it was a little bigger than the nursery.   
  
Wolf looked up at the round ceiling above her. It seemed to tower over her, even though she was only a few moons away from being a To-Be. With that thought in mind, she looked at Dew.   
  
“You’re becoming a To-Be in a moon, right?” she asked. Dew nodded.   
  
“I’m hoping to be a Cave Guard,” she meowed. The snow started to melt off of their fur, dampening their pelts and dropping onto the stone under their paws.   
  
“So am I,” Ash mewed, flicking his tail. “Moon is, as well.”  
  
“All three of you want to be Cave Guards?” Leopard asked. The littermates nodded. “I want to be a Cave Guard, too. Song and Wolf want to be Prey-Hunters.”  
  
Song looked at her own pelt. “I think that we can go back to the nursery now,” she meowed. Ash looked at his silver fur and nodded in agreement.   
  
“Let’s go,” he meowed. Song led the way out of the small cavern and into the nursery. Ice and Wind turned towards the kits.  
  
“That game took a while, didn’t it?” Ice asked, her eyes narrowed. Wolf nodded.  
  
“Do you know how hard Dew is to find?” she asked her mother, her tail flicking.  
  
Wind took a step towards her kits. “Your fur is wet!”   
  
“We fell in the pond,” Moon meowed.  
  
“All of you?” Ice asked. The kits nodded. Wolf yawned, padding over to the nest she shared with Ice, Song, and Leopard. She curled up and closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep.


	6. Two Cave Guards and One Prey-Hunter

ICE STOOD AT THE ENTRANCE OF the nursery, waiting for her three kits. “Come, this will be you one day,” she meowed, leading the way out of the nursery. The other cats in the Tribe were already gathering. This was the first Tribe meeting that Wolf had been to, and the first thing she noticed was how the Prey-Hunters sat on one side of the cave while the Cave Guards sat on the other side. Ice went to join the Cave Guards, her kits following.  
  
Storm purred at the sight of his mate invited her to sit next to him. His eyes turned to the kits. “You brought them with you this time?” he asked. Ice nodded.  
  
“They should see what will happen to them soon. They only have two more moons left before they become To-Be’s.” Storm nodded in agreement. Wolf, Song, and Leopard sat in front of their parents and looked towards the boulder in the center of the pond.  
  
Moon, Dew, and Ash were all sitting on the rock. Their fur was groomed until it gleamed in the light reflecting off of the pond, and they sat up proudly.   
  
Finally, Envy padded out of the shadows. His muscles rippled beneath his pelt and he leapt towards the boulder. He climbed to the top of the boulder and looked down at his Tribe, then at the three cats sitting beneath him.   
  
“The Tribe of Endless Hunting has dictated that when a kit reaches the age of eight moons, they are to become a To-Be. These three kits have reached that age. It is time for these three cats to leave kithood behind and serve our Tribe.”   
  
“As we have done,” the cats from the Tribe meowed.   
  
Envy turned his gaze to Ash. “Ash of Fleeing Fire, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you strength and size.” He looked at the rest of the Tribe. “He is to be a Cave Guard.” Ash looked as if he would explode with joy. He stood up and joined the group of Cave Guards.  
  
“Dew on Colored Leaves,” Envy began again. “The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you dark fur to blend in with the night and strength.” Again, he looked at the rest of the Tribe. “She is to follow her brother as a Cave Guard.” Dew was more collected than her brother as she joined the Cave Guards.  
  
“Moon in Lands Unknown, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you speed and light fur to blend in with the snow. She is to be a Prey-Hunter.” Wolf couldn’t miss the look of disappointment that flashed in Moon’s eyes, but it was immediately replaced with pride. She stood and joined the Prey-Hunters at the other side of the cave.   
  
“We welcome these three cats as To-Bes of The Tribe of Hidden Envy,” Envy meowed.  
  
“We welcome you.” Wolf could dimly remember something like this before, when she was first born. A ceremony welcoming her and her littermates to life in her Tribe.   
  
Envy leapt off of the boulder and padded back to his den. Wolf instantly ran over to Moon. “Moon!” She meowed. Moon looked over at the gray she cat. “I’m sorry you didn’t become a Cave Guard.”  
  
Moon shook her head. “I knew that I wouldn’t. I’ll serve the Tribe better as a Prey-Hunter.” She smiled at the smaller cat. “Besides, I’ll get to train with you!”   
  
Wolf purred. “I hope so.”

* * *

“This feels weird without Ash, Dew, and Moon,” Leopard complained. Wolf nodded in agreement.  
  
“We only have two more moons before we become To-Be’s. We’ll have more time with them, then,” Song meowed. Wolf turned her gaze to Willow, who had just moved into the nursery. She sat, watching the kits next to the pond as Ice groomed her fur.   
  
“I want to be a To-Be already,” Wolf mewed. “Two moons is too long to wait.” Song and Leopard nodded in agreement. Wolf’s ear flicked as she looked towards the cave entrance. The hunting patrol, that had left just after Moon became a To-Be, padded through the entrance. Moon held her head high, a small hawk in her jaws. Wolf ran to meet her as she dropped her catch with the rest of the caught-prey.   
  
“Did you catch that?” Wolf asked. Moon nodded, a gleam of happiness in her eyes.   
  
“River helped,” she meowed, flicking her tail to the Prey-Hunter.  
  
“But still, this is your first catch! What was it like?”  
  
Moon purred. “You have to find out for yourself.”  
  
“But that’s two moons away!” Wolf grumbled.   
  
“You’ll get there soon,” Moon told her. “Anyway, Dew and Ash should be getting back soon.”   
  
Leopard and Song padded up to the two she cats. “Won’t they be out longer? The Cave Guards might have taken them on a tour of the territory,” Song meowed.  
  
Moon shook her head. “The Prey-Hunters and Cave Guards told us that the whole mountain was ours, and pointed to other mountains and told us which ones belonged to which Sin Tribe.”  
  
“What do you mean ‘Sin Tribe’?” Leopard asked. “There’s no other Tribes around.”  
  
“The Virtue Tribes,” Moon replied, flicking her tail.  
  
“You think they live in the mountains?” Wolf asked.  
  
“Where else would they live?”   
  
“I always thought that they traveled,” Leopard meowed.  
  
“I’m not even sure if they’re real,” Song mewed.   
  
“I like to think they are,” Moon meowed. Wolf nodded in agreement. Leopard and Song hesitated.  
  
“Why would we want to fight against more Tribes?” Leopard asked.   
  
“Well, every Sin has an opposite Virtue, right? That’s how the story goes, I think,” Moon meowed. Song nodded.  
  
“Yes, so what?”  
  
“What if the Sins and Virtues worked together? It would make our Tribe bigger!”  
  
“It would make the other Tribes bigger, too,” Song meowed. Moon didn’t respond. “But, then again, we would still be able to defend ourselves.”  
  
“That’s the spirit,” The kits and the To-Be turned towards Flower. The Cave Guard looked down at Song. “You’d make a good Cave Guard if you had the strength. I wonder what Envy has planned for you.”   
  
“I’m hoping to become a Prey-Hunter,” Song told her.   
  
Flower nodded. “I hope so, too.” She padded back towards Hiss and Fang.   
  
“What does she mean by that?” Song asked.  
  
“That you think like a Cave Guard,” Leopard meowed.   
  
“So… you think of the best ways to protect the Tribe? Don’t we all do that?” Wolf asked. Moon nodded.  
  
“In different ways, but yeah, I think we do.” 

* * *

Wolf sat and looked in the reflection of the moon in the pond. The full moon shone bright in the sky. Most of the cats in the Tribe were at the Gathering, including Moon, Dew, and Ash. The cave was silent, and no shadows fell across the water. The cave was silent, as Wolf was the only cat who wasn’t in their den.   
  
Her fur glowed silver in the light from the pond. Her ears twitched as she listened to the faint sound of the wind outside of the cave.  
  
Until that sound was broken. Moon’s fur stood on end as she listened to the wolf’s howl. It was quieter than it was when she heard it outside, but just as beautiful to her. Again, she was entranced by the sound. She snapped out of her trance as a paw shoved her. She quickly caught her balance and looked up at Ice.  
  
“Come on, back into the nursery,” Her voice was panicked as she spoke to her kit.   
  
“Why?” Wolf asked.  
  
“Because it’s late!” she snapped. Wolf nodded. It seems reasonable enough, she thought. She followed Ice back to the nursery and curled up next to Leopard and Song.


	7. Wolf's First Prey

LEOPARD LANDED IN FRONT OF WOLF and Song, his tail flicking from side to side happily. “It’s today! It’s finally today!”   
  
Song sighed. “Yes, we know. And we’re excited, too.”   
  
Wolf’s tail was also flicking happily as she licked her fur, smoothing it down. Ice padded over to them and started the same treatment on Leopard.   
  
“Ice, stop it!” Leopard meowed.  
  
“Let me treat you like a kit one last time,” Ice mewed, continuing to work on his fur. Leopard froze in response, almost in shock. Ice had never really treated them as a mother, but all three kits were aware of how much she loved them.  
  
Finally, Ice finished with Leopard. Song and Wolf were almost done themselves. She gave her two she kits one lick in between their ears. She purred at her kits. “I’m sure that you three will serve our Tribe well.”  
  
She padded over to the Cave Guard side of the cave. Barely any cats were in the main cave, but more were emerging. Leopard led the way towards the boulder in the center of the pond. When they got there, they sat with their heads held high. Excitement filled Wolf’s mind as she waited for the cats of the Tribe to gather.   
  
It seemed to take forever before Envy emerged from his den. He leapt onto the boulder and looked at his Tribe before he started the familiar ceremony. “The Tribe of Endless Hunting has dictated that when a kit reaches the age of eight moons, they are to become a To-Be. These three kits have reached that age. It is time for these cats to leave kithood behind and serve our Tribe.”  
  
“As we have done.” Wolf repeated the same phrase in her mind: _Let me be a Prey-Hunter._  
  
Envy turned to Leopard. “Leopard that Plays in Snow, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you strength and courage. He is to be a Cave Guard.” Leopard’s eyes were filled with joy as he stood to join the rest of the Cave Guards. Next, Envy turned to Wolf.  
  
“Wolf that Howls at High Moon, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you speed and agility.” Nervousness suddenly filled the gray and black she cat. “She is to be a Prey-Hunter.” Overwhelming joy instantly replaced her nervousness. She stood and joined the Prey-Hunters. Moon purred at her, sweeping her tail to the spot next to her. Wolf sat next to her.   
  
“We welcome these cats as To-Bes of The Tribe of Hidden Envy.” Wolf’s ears pricked.  _What about Song?_  
  
“We welcome you.” Some of the voices were uncertain. Wolf’s eyes darted to Song. Song was acting calm, but Wolf knew that she was confused and hurt on the inside.   
  
Envy looked down at Song. “Song that Plays with Mountain Wind, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you neither strength nor speed, neither courage nor agility as they gave your littermates. They have given you a greater destiny. You were given wisdom beyond your age, and paws that were never meant to catch prey or fight off attackers.” Envy looked over the Tribe. “Song is to be the next Healer of The Tribe of Hidden Envy. We welcome you as a To-Be of our Tribe.”   
  
Instead of speaking, the cats put one paw in front of them and bowed their heads. Wolf quickly followed their actions. After a few heartbeats, they stood again. Envy flicked his tail, an order for Song to follow him, before he leapt off of the boulder. Song quickly stood and followed him. Wolf watched as they disappeared into Envy’s den.  
  
“Well, let’s go,” Wolf and Moon turned towards Glow, who was flicking her tail impatiently. “We need to start Wolf’s training.” The two To-Bes stood and padded to the entrance.   
  
“I finally get to hunt!” Wolf mewed happily. Moon purred at her.   
  
Wolf, Moon, Glow, Leaf, and Stone padded over to the entrance and met with a few Cave Guards: Cloud, Breeze, Hiss, Fern, and Leopard. Leopard’s amber eyes were lit up with joy as he waved his tail at Wolf and Moon.   
  
Stone led the way out of the cave, the Cave Guards and Prey-Hunters following. Wolf purred quietly as she felt the snow under her paws. She looked around the mountain, and at the others surrounding it. Cloud faced Wolf and Leopard.  
  
“This whole mountain belongs to our Tribe. Each Tribe has their own.” He flicked his tail towards the largest mountain. “That one belongs to The Tribe of Lonely Greed.” He turned towards the mountain next to the largest one. “That one belongs to The Tribe of Sacred Wrath.”  
  
Glow pointed towards the mountain closest to theirs with their muzzle. “That one belongs to The Tribe of Fatal Pride, and that one,” she turned to a mountain on another side of their own mountain. “Belongs to The Tribe of Empty Gluttony. That one-” she looked at the mountain next to that one, “belongs to The Tribe of Peaceful Sloth.”  
  
“The last one is directly across from us,” Cloud, meowed flicking his tail in that direction. “It belongs to The Tribe of Lost Lust.”   
  
Stone looked down the slope of the mountain. “In between all of the Sin Tribe’s mountains is a clearing, where we hold our Gatherings. There is a cave with a pool under the clearing, where the Tribe Healers speak with The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  
  
Fern turned towards Hiss. “I’m going to teach Leopard some battle moves. You keep going with the Prey-Hunters.” Hiss nodded as Fern led Leopard away. Glow’s tail flicked.   
  
“Wolf, let me see your hunting crouch.” Wolf quickly complied to her order. Stone padded around her, checking her carefully for any flaws. He shoved her gently with his paw on her side. She stumbled slightly, quickly catching herself.  
  
“You’re off balance a bit,” Glow meowed. “Try again.” Wolf nodded before crouching again, much more balanced this time. When Stone shoved her, she moved to the side a bit, but she didn’t stumble.   
  
“Good,” Stone purred. “Now try stalking.” Wolf stalked forward slowly, Her belly dragging across the snow.  
  
“Don’t lift your paws completely out of the snow, it’ll just take longer,” Leaf suggested. Wolf nodded and did as she was told.   
  
“You’re much better than I was, Wolf,” Moon meowed. Wolf sat up and purred happily.  
  
“Shall we find some prey to test that on?” Glow asked. Wolf nodded happily. Stone purred and started padding away. Wolf happily followed as the Cave Guards surrounded them. Her tail tip flicked from side to side.  
  
Leaf and Moon padded next to Wolf. All three of the To-Be’s followed behind the Prey Hunters. The cats padded down the mountain slope gracefully. Glow turned her head from side to side, her amber eyes watching carefully for the slightest movement.   
  
Stone suddenly stopped, making all the cats stop as well. He turned to look at Wolf. “It’s time to test your skills. There’s a mouse over there; wait for a larger bird to hunt it before you catch both of them.” Wolf nodded, crouching down and slowly creeping forward. She stopped a wolf length away from the mouse. She heard a screech from above her after a few heartbeats as an eagle dived towards the mouse. As soon as it’s talons gripped the small mouse, Wolf leapt into the air and onto the eagle’s back.   
  
The bird tried to fly away, but was weighed down by the cat on his back. Glow leapt onto the bird with her, sending the bird crashing to the ground. Wolf bit down on the back of the bird’s neck. She felt it go still under her.  
  
“Well done, Wolf,” Glow purred. Wolf held her head tall in pride, her tail swishing happily. She had finally caught a piece of prey.


	8. Conversations

WOLF PADDED INTO THE CAVE WITH her head held high, the eagle clamped in her jaws. The bird’s talons and wing tips dragged across the ground as her tail swished. She padded over to the rest of the caught-prey and dropped the bird on top of the small pile. She looked up as she saw pawsteps pad up to her.  
  
Song purred as she sniffed the bird Wolf had caught. “You caught this?”  
  
“With Glow,” Wolf meowed. “But it’s still my first catch! Isn’t it great?” Song nodded and padded closer to the pond, Wolf following her. “So, how was your training?”   
  
“Envy started teaching me about herbs,” Song meowed. “Where to find them and how to use them. He promised to take me outside tomorrow.”   
  
“Do you want to be Tribe Healer?” Wolf asked.  
  
The silver she-cat hesitated. “Well, Envy was right. I don’t have the strength to be a Cave Guard and I don’t have the agility or speed to be a Prey-Hunter. The Tribe of Endless Hunting created me to be the next Healer.”  
  
Wolf purred. “Ice must be proud. I bet my meal that she won’t stop talking about it at the Gathering.” Song purred as well. Their ears pricked as Fern and Leopard padded into camp. Leopard looked tired, but happy as he looked at his two sisters. His amber eyes lit up and he bounded over to the To-Bes.   
  
“Wolf! Did you catch anything?” Leopard asked, stopping in front of the siblings. Wolf nodded and flicked her tail towards the eagle.  
  
“I caught that with Glow.” Leopard purred at the sight of the bird.   
  
“That’s great!” He meowed. He turned to Song. “What about you? What did Envy teach you?” Song explained again what she had learned.   
  
“What about you? Fern’s the leader of the Cave Guards, she had to have taught you something amazing!” Wolf meowed. Leopard nodded.  
  
“If I could beat you before, I could easily beat you now,” Leopard purred, sitting down. He held his head high and pointed his paw at Song. “All of my skills will be used to protect the future Healer.”  
  
Song hesitated before purring softly, but the sweet sound was obviously forced. Her silver tail flicked around her paws.   
  
“When’s the next Gathering?” Wolf asked, licking the pad of her paw.  
  
“In a few moon rises. Why?” Song asked.  
  
“Well, we should be allowed to go, right?”  
  
Leopard nodded after a few moments of thinking. “Especially Song, since she’s the Healer’s To-Be.”  
  
“We’re still new To-Be’s,” Song mewed. Before any of the siblings could respond, Moon padded up to them.  
  
“C’mon, Wolf! It’s meal time!” she mewed. Wolf nodded and stood up, flicking her tail to her siblings before she left them. Moon padded towards Leaf, who was sitting patiently beside an eagle. The two other Prey-Hunters sat next to her. Moon motioned for Leaf to take the first bite.   
  
The brown and black she-cat bent down and took a bite out of the eagle, then passed it to Moon.  
  
“You should become a full Prey-Hunter soon, right Leaf?” Wolf asked as Moon took a bite, then passed it to the gray she-cat. She took a bite before passing it to Leaf again.  
  
Leaf shook her head. “No, I still have until The Time of Running Water,” she mewed before taking a bite. She pushed the bird over to Moon. Moon took a bite.  
  
“That’s still pretty soon,” the silver cat argued, passing the bird to Wolf. “Compared to me and Wolf, anyway.” Wolf nodded in agreement before taking another bite, then passing it to Leaf again.  
  
Leaf shook her head. “You two are naturals at hunting. The only problem you would have is with fighting.”  
  
“Fighting?” Wolf asked as the brown and black she-cat nodded.   
  
“Even though we’re Prey-Hunters, we still have to learn a few defensive moves,” She mewed as Moon passed the eagle to Wolf again. Wolf took a bite before nodding, passing the bird back to Leaf.  
  
“I guess that makes sense,” Moon meowed. “When’s our first fighting session?”  
  
“You haven’t had one yet?” Wolf asked. Moon shook her head.   
  
“It should be soon,” Leaf meowed. The two she-cats nodded. They quickly finished the bird. Wolf stood and stretched, letting out a purr as she did so. Moon stood up.   
  
“We made a nest for you in the To-Be’s den,” Moon meowed. Wolf nodded happily as Moon led the way to the den. Inside, Wolf looked around.   
The den was bigger than the nursery, with nests covering the floor. The nests were lined with feathers, as all of them were. Moon flicked her tail towards a nest towards the back of the den. “You and Leopard are over there,” she mewed. Wolf nodded, letting out a yawn. She’d only now noticed how tired she was from spending the day hunting. She padded over to her nest and curled up, resting her tail over her nose before letting closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	9. Others Fears

WOLF FELT SOMETHING SHAKING HER THE next morning.  She groaned and turned over, but it didn’t stop the prodding on her side.  “Wolf, we have training,” Leaf’s voice mewed.  Wolf let out another groan before she slowly stood up.  She let out a yawn as she stretched, opening her eyes.  Her vision was blurry.  She blinked a few times, then lifted a paw to rub at her eyes.  Once the blurriness was gone from her vision, she watched as Leaf and Moon repeated the process.  

 

She started grooming her fur, pulling out a feather or two before she was satisfied with her work.  Song quickly sat up, glancing at her sister before grooming her own silver fur.  Moon shoved Wolf with her paw.

 

“C’mon, let’s go,” She meowed sleepily.  Wolf nodded before Moon led the way out of the den, Leaf padding beside her.  She could feel Song’s eyes following her as she left.  Dawn, Stone, and Night were waiting patiently by the entrance to the cave.  The three she-cats bounded towards the three waiting Prey-Hunters.  They stood up once the To-Bes reached them.  

 

“Moon, Wolf, are you ready for your first training fighting session?” Night asked.  Moon and Wolf nodded and glanced at Leaf, who mouthed ‘See? I told you’ to her peers.  

 

“Good.  We just have to wait for Water, Flower, and Hiss,” Dawn meowed.  Wolf nodded as her tail flicked impatiently from side to side.  At the first sight of the two Cave Guards and To-Be, the three Prey-Hunters stood up.  The Cave Guards surrounded the Prey-Hunters as they left the cave.  

 

Wolf set in beside Leaf and Moon.  The smaller cat had a bit harder time dragging her paws through the snow, but she was still able to keep up pretty well.  Water glanced back at the gray she-cat before looking back at the white expanse in front of him.

 

Stone led the way down the mountain, the snow becoming thinner under Wolf’s paws until she was stepping on gray stone.  They padded towards a ledge with dark green grass covering it.  As soon as they stepped onto it, Wolf tried to get used to the new feeling under her paws.  The grass was much softer than the stone she was used to.  She looked down at the small, green plants, sniffing it.  It smelled much different from stone and snow.

 

“Hunting on grass is a bit different from hunting in the snow and on stone,” Dawn explained.  “Smaller animals hide in the grass more often than everywhere else on the mountain, so it’s a good place to find larger birds hunting.”

 

“It’s also harder to blend in, so you have to be more careful,” Night added.  Wolf nodded.  Stone turned his amber eyes to the sky.  His tail flicked.

 

“The wolves have been hunting…” he meowed.

 

“What do you mean?” Moon asked.  He turned his head to look at her.

 

“There’s usually enough prey for the Sin Tribes, but now that the wolves have come to the mountain, we’ve been finding less and less.”  Moon, Leaf, and Wolf nodded.  Wolf scented the air, but she couldn’t smell anything past the cats and the grass.  She had to rely on her eyes.

 

Before she could find anything, Dawn went into a hunting crouch.  Wolf looked towards where Dawn’s eyes were fixed.  She saw a dark gray shape hiding in the grass, making it shake as it moved.  She crept forward slowly, leaping forward to catch the animal.  She gave it a quick bite to the neck and padded back to the group, the rabbit clamped in her jaws.  

 

Night nodded towards her.  “Nice catch.”  Dawn bowed her head to the black she-cat.  Stone led the way through the grass to go further down the mountain.  Wolf spotted a hawk closer to the top, but they were too far away to catch it.  The cats padded across the stone in silence.

 

All of the cats froze, except for Wolf, froze at the sound of a wolf’s howl.  It sounded much closer than the other howls that she had heard.  The Cave Guards pushed the Prey-Hunters together, surrounding them.  Their eyes flicked around them, watching for any signs of movement.  Wolf looked at Moon.

 

“What are they doing?” she hissed quietly at the silver she-cat.  Moon looked at her, her blue eyes filled with panic.

  
“Protecting us from the wolves,” she hissed back quickly.  Wolf nodded, but she still didn’t understand all the other cats fear.  As soon as the howl ended, the Cave Guards started herding the Prey-Hunters back towards the cave.  None of the cats argued, despite the fact that they only had a rabbit to show for their day out.


	10. The Gathering (Part One)

“THE GATHERING IS TONIGHT,” ENVY MEOWED, his voice loud and clear in the cave.  It echoed off the walls as Song sat calmly next to the boulder.  The cave was lit up by the moonlight that reflected off of the water in the cave.  Wolf sat comfortably next to Moon on the Prey-Hunter’s side of the cave.  “All of the To-Bes will be going.”  Moon and Wolf looked at each other with a smile on their faces.  “Along with Dawn, Night, Stone, Screech, Glow, Fern, Hiss, Flower, Fang, Storm, and Strike.”

 

Envy leapt off of the boulder and across the stepping stones, Song at his heels.  He lead the way out of the cave, the called cats following him.  They sped across the mountain, snow turning to stone turning to grass beneath their paws.  They stopped in the clearing that was filled with grass and a large boulder, much larger than the one in the cave, where Envy immediately padded towards.  Moon and Wolf looked at each other for a second before splitting off from their Tribe.  They were immediately met with an unfamiliar cat.

 

She dark gray, almost black fur and dark gray eyes that almost blended in with her fur.  She had leapt in front of the two cats, her tail lashing happily.  “Hello!” She meowed happily.

 

Moon bowed her head towards her, Wolf quickly copying her actions.  “Hello,” Moon meowed.  Wolf purred.

 

The dark gray she-cat put one of her paws in front of her, getting a bit lower to the ground.  “I’m Ember that Glows After Twilight.”  Moon and Wolf copied her actions.

 

“I’m Moon in lands Unknown.”

 

“And I’m Wolf that Howls at High Moon.”  All three cats stood up straight.  

 

“It’s nice to meet you!” She meowed.  Wolf nodded happily.  

 

“Yeah,” she mewed, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.  “Is this your first Gathering?”

 

Ember nodded.  “I’m guessing that it’s yours, too.”  Wolf nodded once again.  

 

“It’s my second,” Moon meowed.  Ember nodded again.

 

“So, what are you training to be? I’m going to be a Prey-Hunter.”

 

“We are, too,” Wolf meowed.  Another cat joined them, A white she-cat with a gray tail and gray eyes.

 

“Crest!” Ember said happily.  “This is Moon in Lands Unknown-” she meowed, gesturing to Moon with her tail, “And Wolf that Howls At High Moon.”  Crest nodded to each cat.

 

“I’m Crest,” she mewed.  She didn’t use the same introduction as Moon, Wolf, and Ember used.

 

“Just Crest?” Moon asked.

 

“I used to be a loner before I joined my Tribe,” she meowed.  “I-I’m going to be a Cave Guard,” she quickly added, sitting up straight with a look of pride in her eyes.

 

“What Tribe are you part of?” Wolf asked.

 

“The Tribe of Sacred Wrath,” Ember meowed.

 

“What about you two?” Crest asked.

 

“The Tribe of Hidden Envy,” Moon meowed, pride filling her voice.  Wolf noticed Song standing by herself in the clearing, looking around.  She made eye contact with her littermate and waved her over.  Song hesitated for a few seconds before she padded over to the four cats.  

 

“Hello,” Song meowed quietly.  She placed her paw in front of herself and got a bit lower to the ground, and introduction that all the cats were used to.  “I’m Song that Plays With Mountain Wind.”

 

“My littermate,” Wolf added happily.  She noticed that she was starting to really like this she-cat.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Crest meowed, nodding to her.  

 

“So, what are you training to be?” Ember asked.

 

Song hesitated for a few seconds before she responded.  “I’m going to be the next Healer for The Tribe of Hidden Envy.”

 

“Whoa, seriously?” Ember asked, her gray eyes lighting up with excitement.  “Healer?” Song nodded.

 

“That’s amazing,” Crest meowed.  

 

“Song, this is Crest and Ember that Glows After Twilight,” Wolf meowed.  Song bowed her head to the two cats.

 

“It’s nice to meet you.”  A blue gray she-cat leapt onto Ember, throwing the almost black she-cat off balance.  She let out a ‘mrow’ of laughter.

 

“I got you, Ember! I finally got you!” She meowed as Song calmly sat next to Wolf.  She looked up at the three cats she didn’t know.  “Oh, sorry.”  She stood up straight and introduced herself.  “I’m Pool of Falling Stones,” she mewed, her blue eyes shining and silver tipped tail flicking from side to side.  Crest stood and introduced Wolf, Song, and Moon, but Ember wasn’t looking at any of the cats.

 

“Who’s that?” She asked, her eyes focused on someone else.  Wolf, Moon, and Song turned to follow her eyes to see a familiar orange tom.  He was next to Ash and Dew, talking to an unfamiliar cat.  A gray tom with amber eyes.

 

“Oh, that’s our brother,” Wolf meowed.

 

“Leopard that Plays in Snow,” Song added.  A group of cats came down from the mountain belonging to The Tribe of Lost Lust, the leader padding calmly and confidently up to the boulder, joining Envy and the only other cat, who Wolf assumed was Wrath.  Wrath was a light gray she-cat with black flecks and blue eyes.  Lust was a small, gray tabby she-cat.  She leapt to the top of the boulder with ease.

 

The cats of the newly-arrived Sin Tribe padded forward and joined the other two.  Wolf couldn’t help but notice four cats who were acting strangely.

 

Three of them were clustered around a small, black she-cat with topaz eyes, as if she was the leader of their group, but Wolf could tell that there was something more.  One of the cats around her was a black she cat with two pale stripes that stopped at her cheeks like tears and rare purple eyes.  Another had brown fur and icy blue eyes.  The last was a flame colored she-cat with red tipped fur and blazing orange eyes.  All three of them were glaring at each other coldly, and the black she-cat didn’t seem to notice as she started speaking with Ice, Wind, and another cat that Wolf didn’t recognize.

 

Ember sat back up and shook herself, giving her fur a few quick licks.  Wolf looked back at her.  Her dark gray eyes kept flicking towards Leopard, as if she was curious about him.

 

“Why do you keep looking at Leopard?” Wolf asked.

 

Ember jumped slightly and looked at Wolf.  “It’s just kind of weird, you know?” she meowed.  “You don’t see an orange cat that much in the mountains, and all three of you have black paws and amber eyes.  It’s a weird trait to share.”  Wolf thought for a few seconds, nodding.  The only orange cats that she had seen were Leopard and the cat from The Tribe of Lost Lust.

 

“I guess so,” she meowed.  “I guess I’m just used to it.”  Song nodded in agreement.  

 

“Want me to introduce you?” Wolf asked.  “He’s pretty friendly.”

 

Ember shook her head.  “N-no, I’m fine.”

 

“Oh, c’mon,” Wolf scoffed.  “I’ll bring him over!” She stood up and bounded towards her brother.  “Leopard!” She mewed.  The orange tom looked at his sister.  “Someone wants to meet you.”

 

Leopard’s amber eyes filled with confusion.  “Me? Why?”

 

Wolf shrugged.  “Not really sure.”  He nodded, bowing his head to the tom from The Tribe of Sacred Wrath before following his littermate back towards Ember, Crest, Pool, Song, and Moon.  She stopped in front of the cats, her brother next to her.

 

“Leopard, this is Ember that Glows After Twilight-” she motioned each cat as she spoke, “Pool of Falling Stones, and Crest.”  Leopard nodded and introduced himself to the other cats.

 

“Ember was the one who wanted to meet you,” Wolf meowed.  Before they could respond, cats streamed into the clearing from the mountain that belonged to The Tribe of Fatal Pride.  A large, black tom with gray eyes padded towards the boulder.  Wolf assumed he was Pride.  They were followed moments later by cats from The Tribe of Empty Gluttony.  Gluttony was a pure white she-cat with green eyes.

 

Leopard nodded towards her.  “So, why did you want to meet me?”

 

“W-well, there aren’t very many orange cats in the mountains…” Ember looked away from the tom.  

 

“Is that it?”

 

“Y-yeah, so what?” Ember’s fur started to stand on end, suddenly aggressive.

 

“Hey, I didn’t do anything.”  Moon cleared her throat.

 

“Well, I don’t think you were expecting this,” she told Wolf.  Wolf nodded in agreement.  Ember shuffled her paws a bit, glancing at Wolf before speaking.

 

“Sorry about that,” she mewed.  

 

Leopard coughed slightly.  “W-well, I better go back to Dew and Ash…” His voice trailed off as he bounded back towards his fellow Cave Guards.  

 

As he left, The Tribe of Lonely Greed joined the Tribes.  Greed was a old, white and gray tom with green eyes.  He had a bit more trouble getting onto the boulders than the other Healers, but he made it just fine.

 

Yet again, moments later, The Tribe of Peaceful Sloth followed closely.  Sloth was a black tom with white paws and amber eyes.  He leapt onto the boulder, and flicked his tail around his paws.  Greed was the cat who called all the cats to attention with a yowl.


	11. The Gathering (Part Two)

GREED SHARED NEWS OF HIS TRIBE first.  “The Tribe of Lonely Greed has been well.  Prey is plentiful, and the wolves have not bothered us.”  Wrath stood up next, her tail flicking.  

 

“The Tribe of Sacred Wrath is also well. We have a two new To-Bes, Ember that Glows After Twilight and a loner we welcomed into our Tribe, Crest.”  Ember stood up proudly at the mention of her name, but Crest just looked down at the ground.

 

Envy stood up next, his eyes scanning over the crowd.  “We also have new To-Bes, Leopard that Plays in Snow, Wolf that Howls at High Moon, and Song that Plays with Mountain Wind.”  Wolf copied Ember’s actions as her name was called.  “I have taken Song as my own To-Be.”

 

Lust followed suit.  “We have a new Prey-Hunter in our Tribe, Soul that Thrives in Smoky Darkness.”  The cat with the violet eyes stood tall.

 

Sloth came up next.  “Prey and water have been good for our tribe, and no wolves have bothered our cats.”

 

Pride flicked his ear.  “We have nothing new to share.  Prey has been well, and there have been no wolves in our territory, either.”

 

Gluttony was the last one to go.  “I have received a prophecy that is to be shared with all Sin Tribes.”  All of the cats in the clearing snapped to attention at her words.  “Only the source of their song can show the dance and way of your fears,” she recited.  

 

“Dance and way of your fears?” Lust asked.  As she spoke, the full moon rose over the mountains, bathing the cats and clearing in moonlight, turning everything to silver.  Howling filled the air, making all the cats (except for Wolf) stiffen.  A different howl joined that one, then another.

 

“It must be a sign from The Tribe of Endless Hunting!” Greed yowled.  

 

Sloth noded in agreement.  “The wolves must be the fear that the prophecy is speaking of,” he yowled over the howls.  The other Healers nodded in agreement as the howls died down.  

 

For the other cats, anyway.

 

To Wolf, words in cat speak filled her mind.  

 

 _“It’s time for a Pack Meeting!”_ The voice was excited.

 

 _“Meet in the tunnels under the mountains.”_  This voice had much more authority.

 

 _“We’ll be there soon,”_  the last one was calm, impassive, almost.

 

 _Tunnels?_  Wolf thought.  She glanced around her, but all the other cats had that look of fear in their eyes.  

 

“I call this Gathering to an end!” Sloth yowled, leaping off of the boulder.  The other Healers followed him, quickly gathering up their Sin Tribes and leading them away from the clearing.  Wolf turned to Ember, Pool, and Crest.  

 

“It was nice meeting you,” she meowed.  Crest turned her gray, widened eyes towards Wolf.

 

“How are you not scared?” She asked.  Confusion filled Wolf’s mind.

 

“I’ve never been scared of the howls.  I actually kind of like it.” All of the To-Bes around her stared at her, until Hiss herded the three from The Tribe of Hidden Envy back towards their mountain.  Wolf, Moon, and Song ran up the mountain with the rest of their Tribe.  None of the cats even slowed down until they reached the cave.  They flooded inside the cave, the cats that didn’t go to the Gathering emerging from their dens to hear the news.  

 

Wolf avoided the other cats, deciding to go into the To-Be’s den and curling up in her nest.  She was tired, not used to staying up so late.  She tucked her nose under her paw, closing her amber eyes and drifting off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Wolf felt grass under her body.  She opened her eyes and lifted up her head, looking around her.  She was standing on a field of pure grass.  An animal that her mind recognized as a wolf (even though she had never seen one, which she took a few moments to consider) padded towards her.  He had gray fur with a white undercoat, and amber eyes.  

 

“Who are you?” Wolf asked.  She was surprised to find that she wasn’t speaking cat speak, but a combination of whimpers, growls, a very small amount of barking, and the occasional howl.

 

“My name is Leaping Storm,” he spoke.  “And you are Howling Moon.”

 

“Howling Moon?” Wolf asked, tilting her head, then shaking it.  “No, my name’s Wolf that Howls at High Moon.”

 

“To us, you are Howling Moon.” Leaping Storm sat down.  Wolf noticed that there were stars in his fur, and was surprised that she didn’t notice it earlier.  

 

“What do you mean, ‘to us’?” Wolf asked.  

 

“You’ll find out soon enough.”  She stifled the urge to groan.  She felt like this was a story that an elder was telling her, and trying to keep suspense in the tale.  “Your time is coming soon,” Leaping Storm continued.  “I have come to tell you to not be afraid when it does.”

 

“Why now?” Wolf asked.

 

“Your story is just beginning.  You understood the howls at your Pack Meeting, correct?” Wolf guessed that he meant the Gathering and nodded.  “That will become much more common for you, and even more of your abilities will develop.”

 

“Wait  _abilities_?” Wolf asked, jumping to her paws.  “Does this mean that I’m going to be a legend? I’ll be a story?” she asked, her voice filling with excitement.  Leaping Storm breathed a sigh.

 

“Don’t act like a pup,” he growled at her.  Wolf instantly sat down, but she couldn’t suppress a smile.  “I can’t tell you that, you have to find out by yourself.”

 

“Can you tell me  _anything_?”

 

“Only what I’ve told you.”  

 

“Well, how will I know when ‘my time comes’?”  Wolf asked.

 

“I think that you’ll notice.”  That was the last thing that Leaping Storm got to say to her before she opened her eyes in the To-Bes den.  She lifted her head to look up at Ash.

 

“Are you okay? You were growling and fidgeting in your sleep,” he told her.  Wolf nodded.

 

“I’m fine,” she meowed.  She was glad that her voice was back to normal.  “Thanks for worrying, Ash.”  Ash nodded before going back to his nest.  He was the only one awake.  Wolf tucked her nose back under her paw and closed her eyes again, going to sleep.  This time, she didn’t see Leaping Storm.

 

 


	12. Wolf's Claws Aren't Fierce

WHEN WOLF WOKE THE NEXT MORNING, she could see the sunlight in the main cave.  She stood up and gave her fur a quick cleaning before she left the den, feeling rested.  The cave was bustling with activity.  Leopard bounded up to her sister.  “Willow’s kitting!”  Wolf’s eyes widened.  Even though Willow had moved into the nursery a moon before they were made To-Bes, she had refused to give up her duty as a Prey-Hunter until she had to.

“Really?” she asked happily.  Leopard nodded.

“It’s Song’s first kitting!” he added.  Hiss padded towards the two.  

“Yes, yes, it’s very exciting, and she’ll need her siblings to help calm her down after it’s over,” he meowed.  “Go wait by the Nursery,” he ordered.  The two littermates nodded and raced across the stone.  They stopped at the entrance of the cavern, their fur rising when they heard a screech come from it.  The littermates looked at each other and sat down, waiting for it to be over.

It felt like an eternity before Envy and Song padded out of the Nursery, looking exhausted.  Wolf and Leopard jumped in front of their littermate.

“Song! What happened?” Leopard asked.  

“It sounded like it was painful for Willow,” Wolf added.  Song nodded.  

“Yes, it was.”

“Was it like that for us?” Leopard asked.

“It had to have been,” Song meowed.  

“What was it like for you? I mean, it was your first kitting as a Healer,” Wolf asked.

Song let out a sigh.  “I couldn’t help much.  I barely know any herbs, and I was just listening to Envy.”

Glow padded up to the three littermates.  “Wolf, you have to get some hunting done.  The last time you went hunting, you only came back with a rabbit.”

“Moon said that the wolves stopped them from hunting!” Leopard argued.  Glow turned to him.

“Even so, as a Prey-Hunter you have to work everyday to take care of your Tribe.  As a Cave Guard, you don’t have to train as hard.”  Glow turned and looked over her shoulder at Wolf.  “Night and River are waiting for you.”  Wolf stood and quickly nodded to her siblings before following the Prey-Hunter.

She was met at the entrance by Night and River, just as Glow had told her.  None of the Cave Guards were waiting, and she was the only To-Be.

Wolf tilted her head.  “Why aren’t we hunting with Moon and Leaf? Or any Cave Guards?”

“Because hunting isn’t our main priority today,” Night meowed, glancing over at River.  

“Today will be your first fighting session,” River finished.  

“But Glow said that we were hunting,” Wolf meowed.

Night rolled her eyes.  “That’s because all Glow cares about is hunting.”

“Anyway, follow us.” River led the way out of the cave and down the mountain.  She stopped as the stone changed to grass, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws.  Night moved to sit next to her.

“This-” Night gestured around them.  “Is the training field.  The grass is soft, so no one can get hurt by falling on a stone.”  Wolf nodded in understanding.  

“Even as a Prey-Hunter,” River continued.  “You must know some defensive moves.  We’ll start off easy, with jumping on an opponent.”  Her and Night stood.  River bounded forward and leaped into the air, landing gracefully on Night’s back, sending both of them to the ground.  River jumped off of her back, turning to face her appointment with her tail lashing from side to side.  Night stood and shook out her fur.  

“Now it’s your turn,” Night said.  “Attack River.”  Wolf nodded, bounding towards the tabby, leaping for her.  She jumped up, but she jumped too low.  She ended up barreling into the Prey-Hunter’s chest, sending both of them rolling across the grass.  

Both of the she-cats sat up and smoothed their ruffled fur.  Night shook her head.  

“You’re thinking of this like you’re catching a rabbit, not attacking a cat,” she meowed.  “It’s like  jumping onto the back or an eagle or a hawk while their rising up into the air, cut feathers instead of fur and the body is a different size.”  

Wolf nodded as River got into position again, and ran towards her.  She leaped much higher into the air, a bit too high.  River leapt towards her and placed her paws on her belly, pushing her away.  She landed with a thud on the ground.  She took a few seconds before she stood up, shaking herself.

“If you leap to high,” River began.  “Your belly will be open to your opponent.  Try again.”  Wolf nodded.  

_Fighting doesn’t seem as fun anymore,_ she thought, taking a running start towards the other Prey-Hunter.  She leapt into the air, and finally hit River.  But instead of landing on her back, she landed on her head.  She quickly leapt off of the white and silver tabby.  Night purred.

 **  
**“It’s good enough.”


	13. Howling Moon

WOLF STRETCHED HER SORE BODY, LETTING out a yawn.  Her tail flicked from side to side as she laid down on the stone beneath her, looking out over the cave.  The sunlight reflecting off of the pond was slowly getting darker as the sun set, making it a bit harder to see in the cave.  

Wolf looked up at Moon as the silver she-cat padded towards her.  “Do you want to go see Willow’s kits?” she asked.  Wolf nodded, standing up and ignoring her soreness.  The other To-Be led the way towards the Nursery.  They easily slipped inside.  

Willow turned her blue and green eyes towards the To-Bes, letting out a purr.  Wolf’s eyes were immediately glued to the four balls of fluff next to her.  One of them was was a black and white tabby, following after their father, Hiss.  Another was black with a white belly and chest, and another was pure black.  The last was pure white.  All four of them were sleeping.  

“Did you come to see the kits?” Willow asked.  Moon nodded.

“They’re so… fluffy,” Wolf meowed.  Willow purred in amusement.

“What’re their names?” Moon asked.

“You know that it can’t be shared until the ceremony,” the black she-cat meowed.  

“It’s at Moon Rise, isn’t it?” Wolf asked.  Willow nodded.

“I should probably bring them out pretty soon,” she meowed.  The white ball of fluff let out a small mewl, and started to stretch.  Her hind paw forced itself into her brother’s side, making him wake up with a squeak.  He opened his eyes, revealing bright blue orbs.  His eyes locked onto Wolf, and Wolf let out a purr in response.  

The To-Bes turned to look at Hiss as he entered the den.  His tail flicked as he padded towards his mate, ignoring the two younger cats.  “It’s time,” he meowed, bending down to nudge the tabby.  She opened her blue and green eyes as her father picked her up.  Wolf stood and padded forward, picking up the black tom by the scruff.  Moon followed Hiss’ lead, nudging the white and black tom.  He opened his green eyes, and Moon picked him up.  

Willow got to her paws and picked up the already awake white she-kit.  She led the way out of the Nursery with Hiss, the two To-Bes following at their heels.  Cats were already gathering around the water as the four cats easily leapt across the stones and set the kits down.  Wolf gave the black ball of fluff a lick between his ears before she followed Moon back across the stones and to the Prey-Hunter’s side of the cave.

Wolf watched as the cave turned more and more silver, and as the small, black tom sat up on shaky paws and looked around the cave.  “I think that they’ll turn out pretty good,” Moon meowed.

“All of our kits do,” Wolf meowed, holding her head tall.  Moon nudged her shoulder as Leaf joined the two she-cats.  She nodded to them as they sat up.  

“They’re beautiful,” Leaf meowed.  Wolf nodded in agreement.  Finally, Envy emerged from his den with Song by his side.  Envy leapt onto the boulder, and Song settled herself on a small ledge that was closer to the flat rock at the bottom.  

Envy looked down at the six cats before him as he started the ceremony.  “The Tribe of Endless Hunting has given all of us our names.  They are the ones who give our mothers the visions from which we earn our names, as they have done for these kits.”  He leapt down from the boulder and stood in front of the tabby.

“This kit has been given the name Shade that is Given Through Leaves.  She will be known as Shade.  May she pride herself on her name, as it has been given to her by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  He turned to the white bellied and chested tom.

“This kit has been given the name Glint that Shines from Abyss.  He will be known as Glint.  May he pride himself on his name, as it has been given to him by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  Next, he went to the black tom.

“This kit has been given the name Raven Feather Found on Stone.  He will be known as Raven.  May he pride himself on his name, as it has been given to him by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  Finally, he turned to the white she-kit.

“This kit has been given the name of Place Where Snow has Fallen.  She will be known as Place.  May she pride herself on her name, as it has been given to her by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  He looked across his Tribe.  “In eight moons time, they will begin serving our Tribe.”

“As we have done,” the cats murmured.  

“But for now, it is their time to enjoy their lives.  May they learn through experience and from our ways,” Envy finished.  He started padding back towards his den.  Song took a few moments before she followed him.  Willow and Hiss scooped up their kits and headed back towards the Nursery.  

Wolf let out a yawn.  “I’m going to sleep,” she meowed.  Moon and Leaf nodded as she stood up and padded towards the To-Bes den.  She curled up in her nest and let herself drift off.

* * *

Wolf heard voices around her, in the growls and whimpers that she had heard from Leaping Storm and herself.  They surrounded her, almost suffocating her.  Some of them sounded panicked, others were calming, and some were indifferent.  She opened her eyes to be greeted by black.

_“What does it mean ‘Howling Moon’?”_

__

_“It’s a name, bird brain.”_

Wolf found herself being more open to the name Leaping Storm had given her.  She prefered her own Tribe name, but the fact that she was known by another was kind of… exciting.

_“What are we supposed to be doing with them, then?”_

__

_“Speckled Cloud, calm down.”_  More and more voices surrounded Wolf.  She found herself drowning in them, not able to discern one from another.  They were different, yet the same.  They molded into one singular mesh of voices, speaking different words at the same time so that it was impossible to understand.  Her head whipped from side to side, trying to find the source.

“What do you want?” She yowled.  

_“Calm down,”_ Wolf heard one singular familiar voice through the rest.

“Leaping Storm?” She asked.  She found herself speaking once again in the growls and whimpers.  

_“Be patient.  This will make sense soon,”_ Leaping Storm growled.  Wolf nodded in response, but she was still worried.  Her fur stood on end as the voices surrounded her, getting louder and louder.  Suddenly, they all spoke at once.  The same thing, clearer than all the growls and whimpers before.

 **  
** _“We have to find Howling Moon!”_


	14. Prophecy De-Coded

AS WOLF PADDED BACK INTO THE cave the next day, she noticed Envy and Song emerging from Envy’s den.  “I have received a sign from The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  It is time for a Telling.”  Wolf immediately dropped her prey in the pile and joined the Tribe as they walked towards the Cave of Shining Water.  

She remembered when she was first taught about this ceremony as a kit.  Her, Leopard, and Song all had to memorize the chants by heart.  Her tail flicked as she started padding through the tunnel towards the Cave of Shining Water.

“When the Tribe of Endless Hunting calls, we come to listen,” Envy meowed.

“In rock and pool, in air and light on water, through fall of prey and cry of kit, through scrape of claw and beat of blood, we hear you,” Wolf meowed along with the rest of the Tribe.  Their voices echoed off of the rock as they stepped into the only cavern in the cave Wolf had never been to.

The Cave of Shining Water was full of water, unsurprisingly.  Rock came up from the ground and the ceiling, some of the pillars touching.  Water littered the ground in ponds, and part of the cave was open to the moonlight coming through it.  Wolf could see a nest in an indent in the cave.

“We stand in the Cave of Shining Water,” Envy meowed.  “Moonrise is here, caught in rock and in water as it has always been and always will be.  It is time for a Telling.  We call upon the Tribe of Endless Hunting to show us your will.”

“Show us your will,” the cats chorused.

Envy started gliding through the cavern as gracefully as the breeze.  He studied the water around him carefully with his green eyes before he spoke once more.

“We greet you, Tribe of Endless Hunting, and thank you for sharing the prophecy of dances and ways.”

“We thank you,” the tribe meowed.  Wolf’s ear flicked.

“Tribe of Endless Hunting, we thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.”

“We thank you.”

“A wolf’s howl is said to be a song of nature,” Envy meowed.  “Also, there have been many more wolves in the area surrounding the Sin Tribe’s mountains.”

No cat spoke.

“As for ‘the source’...” he let his voice trail off, and his eyes turned to wolf.  “If this prophecy is about the wolves, there is only one connection the Tribes have to them.  No other Tribes have the name ‘Wolf’.”  

Wolf felt herself stiffen as all the Tribe’s eyes turned to her.  She quickly looked from side to side as the cats gave her a good eagle-length of space around her.  They also cleared a path for Envy to pad up to her.

The brown tom towered over the younger she-cat.  “Wolf, have you had any strange dreams or feelings lately?” he asked.  His voice was stern.  “Now is the time to share it, in front of your Tribe.”

Wolf hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded.  “Y-yes, I’ve had some… dreams.”

“Would I be right in assuming that they were about wolves?” Wolf nodded.  Some murmuring spread throughout the cave.  Envy lifted his tail for silence.  

“Do you remember anything else about these dreams?”  Wolf thought for a few seconds.  The only thing that she had remembered about the first dream was Leaping Storm, and the second one was too confusing for her to speak about.

“A wolf called Leaping Storm, and he called me Howling Moon.”

* * *

Wolf found cats showing her more respect than they ought to for a To-Be.  Cave Guards were nodding at her as she passed, when before they would ignore her.  The To-Bes that she wasn’t close to were treating her like she was already a full Prey-Hunter, and the Prey-Hunters were were treating her as more of an equal than a trainee.

To be honest, it made her a bit uncomfortable.  

During meal time, while she was eating with Moon and Leaf (two of the five cats in the Tribe who treated her the same, the others being Leopard, Song, and Envy), Envy and Song padded towards her.  Fern, Breeze, and Stripes following in their pawsteps.

“Wolf, we must share what we have discovered with the other Tribes,” Envy meowed.  “If the Tribe of Endless Hunting wanted the prophecy shared at a Gathering, then they want the other Tribes to know,” he explained.  Wolf nodded and stood up quickly.  Envy turned to Song.

“Song, stay here while we’re gone.  It will be a good experience for you,” Song nodded and started padding deeper into the cave.  Envy flicked his tail, a silent order for Wolf to follow him as they left the cave.  

Wolf’s silent paws descended into the snow.  A new snowfall was already starting, covering up the old tracks made by the cats.  She padded at Envy’s heels, in the place that she had grown accustomed to seeing Song in.  

Envy padded towards The Tribe of Fatal Pride first.  It was High Sun when the cats had made it to the foot of their mountain and began to climb the other one.  They were met with a hunting patrol, the Cave Guards stopping them from going any further.

“Envy,” a dark gray tom greeted, his amber eyes shining.  “What brings you to the Tribe of Fatal Pride?”

Envy’s ear flicked.  “We are here to speak to your leader about the prophecy.  We mean no ill will,” he meowed respectfully.  He turned towards a gray tabby tom and a small black she-cat.  Both of them nodded.  He turned back towards Envy and nodded.  The two other Cave Guards stood on either side of the Prey-Hunters as they lead the way to their cave.

They reached the cave as the sun was almost setting.  The dark gray Cave Guard led the way to the brim of a tunnel before he turned to look at the cats from the Tribe of Hidden Envy.  

“There’s a tunnel here that leads to our cave,” he meowed, diving in.  The Prey-Hunters went into the tunnel first, then the other two Cave Guards allowed the other Tribe cats to enter it.  Wolf found herself having to use her whiskers to guide herself through the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever.  She saw a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, and was relieved to emerge into the cave.  

She was greeted by a light that was coming from a hole in the room, illuminating the cave.  There was no pond, and no boulder.  Instead, there was a ledge farther up on the cave wall.  The dark gray Cave Guard had leapt up to it and escaped down another tunnel, most likely to get Pride.  Envy sat down, and Wolf followed his lead.  She glanced at the cats who were staring at them curiously, curling her tail around her paws and sitting has politely and tall as she could.

It only took a few moments for Pride to leap down from the ledge, his black fur shining in the light.  He dipped his head quickly to Envy, turning his gray eyes to Wolf for a heartbeat.  

“Claw tells me that you have something to tell me about the prophecy,” he meowed, loud enough for the rest of his Tribe to hear.  Envy nodded in response.  Once again, Pride turned his eyes to Wolf.  “I’m guessing that this is Song?”

Envy shook his head.  “Her name is Wolf.”  Wolf quickly dipped her head to the other Tribe Healer, trying to be respectful.  Pride nodded.

“And what do you have to tell me about the prophecy?”

“We also believe that it is about Wolf,  because of her name.  She has told me that she has been having dreams about wolves, as well, but she doesn’t remember much of them.”

Pride looked at Wolf once more.  “What do you remember?” he asked her.

“A-a wolf,” she began, “named Leaping Storm, and he called me Howling Moon.”  Pride thought for a few moments.

“It’s a good theory,” he meowed.  “I don’t have reason to believe that it isn’t true.  Your name was Wolf that Howls at High Moon, right?” Wolf nodded.  Murmuring spread through the cave, and Pride lifted his tail for silence.  He bowed his head to Envy.  “Thank you for sharing this with us, Envy.  Would I be right in assuming that you are sharing this with all the Tribes?”

Envy nodded.  

“Then spend the night here.  I don’t want my Tribe to be looked down on for not giving a Tribe Healer a place to stay, or a cat from a prophecy.”


	15. First Glimpse of A Pack

DURING THEIR JOURNEY TO TELL ALL of the Sin Tribes their news, Wolf had found that all of the Tribes followed their name sake.  Or, they were filled with their Sin.  She had also noticed that she had always felt a bit resentful towards the full Prey-Hunters, in her Tribe or otherwise.  She was following her own sin of Envy.

 

The Tribe of Fatal Pride refused to let their reputation be tarnished, and took care of Wolf very well.  They were even willing to let them stay for another day, but Envy declined their offer.  

 

The Tribe of Lonely Greed was always wanting more, and they were almost… _possessive_ of Wolf, even though she wasn’t part of their Tribe.  

 

The Tribe of Empty Gluttony had the most food that Wolf had ever seen.  She almost felt sorry for their Prey-Hunters.

 

The Tribe of Lost Lust kept casting looks at each other that made Wolf feel uncomfortable.  Once again, she saw the group of four that she had seen at the Gathering.  The small, black she-cat was named Pixie That is Blind to Passionate Heart.  The she-cat with the tear like streaks in her fur was Soul That Thrives in Smoky Darkness.  The brown she-cat was Broken Heart of Rejected Lover, and the flame colored she-cat was Heart that Struggles to Contain Fiery Passion.  Wolf also noticed that all the cats were a bit… touchy.

 

The Tribe of Peaceful Sloth had comfortable nests, but they only worked during a few hours of the night.  Wolf found it hard to sleep with the complaints of having to work surrounding her.

 

Finally, Envy led the way to the mountain belonging to The Tribe of Sacred Wrath.  They were once again escorted to their cave by Cave Guards.  Their cave was hidden under a cliff, and was hard to climb up.  The Cave Guards told them that they had to watch their paws as they padded across the stone, as there were only a few footholds.  

 

Once again, there was no pond.  Before Wolf could process anything else about the cave, she heard a familiar yowl.  “Wolf!”  The To-Be turned her eyes to look at Ember, who was coming towards her before another cat stopped her, glaring at the cats from The Tribe of Hidden Envy.  

 

A few moments later, Wrath came out from her den.  She stopped in front of the cats, and beckoned her tail for her Tribe to gather around.

 

“Envy, what are you doing on our Tribe’s land?” her voice was laced with anger.  Yet again, she was following her Tribe’s namesake.

 

“We have news on the Prophecy, Wrath,” Envy meowed calmly.  

 

“Oh?” Wrath’s blue eyes narrowed as her tail lashed.  “What is it?”

 

Envy once again told Wrath and her Tribe about Wolf being part of the prophecy, and Wolf once again was asked to tell Wrath about her dreams.

 

“It makes sense!” Ember burst out.  Wolf’s eyes turned to her.

 

“Ember!” Crest meowed from next to her, while Pool glared at her fellow To-Be.  

 

Wrath turned her eyes to Ember as well.  “What do you mean, Ember?”

 

“She said that the Gathering, when the wolves were howling, that she wasn’t scared of them! She said she liked them!” Ember finished.  Murmuring spread throughout the cave.  Unlike Wolf had seen before, Wrath didn’t bother to order them to be silent.  

 

“Have you told the other tribes about this?” Wrath asked after a few moments.  Her voice rose above all the rest, and the murmuring cut off instantly.  

 

Envy nodded.  “Your Tribe was the last.”  Wrath nodded.

 

“Good.”  Wolf watched as the cave started to light up with the moonlight.  “Then you can go back to your own Tribe and leave ours alone.”  Before Wolf’s eyes could even widen with shock (all the other Tribes had no problem with them staying the night), Wrath let out a sigh.  “At least, that’s what I would like to say.  But our reputation is as important to us as it is to The Tribe of Fatal Pride, so we will let you stay the night.  Ember!” Ember immediately raced to Wrath’s side.  “Since you seem to know Wolf, you will make her at home.”  

 

Ember nodded and started padding towards a den.  Wolf hesitated for a few seconds before Wolf followed her.  “As for the rest of you, you may stay in the Cave Guard’s den,” Wolf could hear Wrath’s voice from the main cave.  Ember looked back at Wolf and purred.

 

“It’s nice to see you again, Wolf,”  she meowed.  Wolf hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded.  Ember dived into a short tunnel and emerged into a larger den.  Wolf followed at her heels.  The darker colored she-cat fished some feathers out of a small dip in the earth and lined a nest with them.  When she was done, she turned to the other To-Be.  “You’ll sleep here,” she meowed.  Wolf nodded and curled up in the nest.  

 

“Good night, Ember.”  Ember nodded enthusiastically.  

 

“You too, Wolf.”

 

* * *

 

_Wolf opened her eyes only to watch as furry legs pass in front of her.  She tilted her head upwards to see wolves.  They padded past her with large steps, and they were moving collectively through the tall grass that surrounded them.  Wolf came to the realization that they couldn’t see her.  She hesitated for a few heartbeats before she followed in the larger animal’s footsteps._

 

_A smaller, light brown wolf caught up to a larger black one with a white undercoat.  “You’re serious about finding Howling Moon, aren’t you?” she growled.  The larger wolf nodded._

 

 _“They’re a wolf that could change the way we live.  We need to find them.”  Wolf let out a snort of laughter._ They think I’m a wolf! _she thought._

 

_The brown wolf looked off to the side a bit.  “Well…” her voice came out in a whimper.  “Panther’s Fall, how do you know that Howling Moon is a wolf?”  Panther’s Fall stopped in his tracks, the rest of the wolves stopping with him._

 

_“What did you say, Cat’s Claw?” he growled.  Cat’s Claw crouched down, as if she was bowing to Panther’s Fall._

 

_“T-the One Pack didn’t say that they were a wolf!” she whimpered.  A white wolf with light brown spots dotting across her pelt stepped forward._

 

_“Panther’s Fall, Cat’s Claw is right.  The One Pack didn’t say anything about what Howling Moon was,” she growled.  Her tail thrashed.  Panther’s Fall turned his amber eyes to the other wolf._

 

_“You’re standing up to your Alpha, Tall Leaves?” he growled._

 

_“I’m your Medicine Wolf, Panther’s Fall.  You wouldn’t even think of hurting me,” Tall Leaves voice was confident.  Panther’s Fall didn’t respond, but his fur rose and a menacing growl came from his throat.  It didn’t seem to bother Tall Leaves.  “I agree with Cat’s Claw.  I don’t think that Howling Moon is a wolf, and the One Pack hasn’t said much about what they are.  But there are a few clues that I have.”_

 

_Panther’s Fall narrowed his eyes.  “What are they?”_

 

_“In my dream that was speaking about Howling Moon, I saw small paw prints, too small for them to even be from a cub.”  The wolves surrounding them didn’t even dare to murmur; it was as if they were too scared to.  “Also, I could see a small shape in the distance when I heard the howling.  I couldn’t see it very well, so I ignored it the first time I saw it.  But…”  her voice trailed off for a few seconds.  “It had small, pointy ears and a long, thin tail.”_

 

_“Like a cat?” Cat’s Claw asked, still crouched close to the ground.  Tall Leaves nodded._

 

_“That’s what I think it was.”_

 

_“You’re saying that Howling Moon is a cat?!” Panther’s Fall let out an angry howl.  Tall Leaves only nodded._

 

* * *

 

Wolf wanted to know what Tall Leaves would say, why Cat’s Claw was so submissive, and why Panther’s Fall was so angry.  But, she never got the chance.  She felt a paw shaking her awake, and she slowly opened her eyes with a yawn.  Crest lowered her paw as Wolf sat up.

 

“Your Tribe is going to leave soon,” she meowed.  Wolf nodded and quickly groomed herself.

  
“Thanks, Crest.”


	16. Just a Bit of Everything

WHEN THE GROUP OF CATS FROM The Tribe of Hidden Envy were finally back in their cave, they were greeted with a meal waiting for them and comfortably made nests.  Wolf had happily settled down in hers, thankful to go back to hunting the next day.  This time, there was no wolf dreams when she fell asleep.  

 

Wolf happily awoke the next morning and went on a hunt with Stone, Night, Moon, and Leaf.  Each of them brought back some kind of prey, and rested she her prey on the caught-prey pile.  Song emerged from the Cave of Shining Water and padded towards her.  “Envy is sending me out to search for herbs,” she meowed.  She sounded… proud.

 

“Alone?” Wolf asked, her ears perked.  Song shook her head.

 

“No, with a few Cave Guards of my choosing.  But he suggested that I bring a Prey-Hunter with, because you have a sharper sense of smell and might be able to find the herbs easier.”  

 

“And you want me to go with?” Song nodded.  “Alright.  What Cave Guards are you going to bring with?”

 

“Water and Breeze.”  

 

“Why only To-Bes?” Wolf asked.  “Wouldn’t it be better to bring some experienced Cave Guards?”  

 

“All of us To-Bes need some experience, and Water and Breeze don’t have much to do today.”  Wolf nodded.  Song padded towards the To-Bes den with Wolf on her paws.  Water and Breeze were curled up in their nests.  Song shook them awake.

 

Water let out a groan.  “Song?” he asked.  Then he turned his rare, silver eyes to Wolf.  “Wolf?”

 

“I have to go collect herbs, and I need some Cave Guards and a Prey-Hunter,” Song meowed.  

 

“Why a Prey-Hunter?” Breeze asked, sitting up in her nest.  

 

“Apparently, I have a better sense of smell than Cave Guards and Healers,” Wolf meowed, looking off to the side.  She was happy to brag when she had caught her first prey, but now that she had a prophecy hanging over her head, she wasn’t too keen on it anymore.

 

Water nodded.  Song let the way out of the den and cave, the three other To-Be’s at her heels.  Water and Breeze easily kept up with the two younger To-Be’s, and Wolf wasn’t having any trouble, but Song was taking it slow.  Wolf was used to going at a fast pace, trying to keep up with the rest of the Prey-Hunters when they were going to their hunting place.  Song, on the other hand, hadn’t left the cave that much.  The duties of a Healer kept her inside most of the time.  Wolf was seeing her less and less even in the main cave.

 

The Healer scented the air, the Prey-Hunter following her lead.  The scent of snow, the cats, and stone was all that she could smell.  She focused a bit more, and she just _just barely_ smell some kind of plant.  “I think I smell something,” Wolf meowed.  Song nodded to her and allowed her to take the lead.  The gray she-cat led the cats a bit further down the mountain and poked her head into a small dip in the mountain.  Some green-leafed plant was poking out from a crack in it.  

 

“You could smell that?” Water asked, flicking his tail.

 

“Well, we were downwind…” Wolf let her voice trail off as she didn’t look the Cave Guard in the eye.  

 

* * *

 

Wolf felt herself get thrown into the air.  She landed heavily on her side, the air blown out of her lungs.  She opened her eyes to see Water standing over her, worry in his eyes.  “Sorry, Wolf! I didn’t mean to throw you so hard,” he meowed.  She shook her head as she stood up.

 

“I-it’s okay,” she wheezed.  After they had collected all of Song’s herbs, Screech and Dawn had told Wolf that she had another fighting session.  They asked Water to come help, explaining that even for a Prey-Hunter, Wolf was exceptionally bad at fighting.  He agreed.  

 

“You should try digging your claws into the ground,” Water suggested.  “It would be harder for cats to lift you up that way.”  

 

“Wouldn’t I rip my claws out?” Wolf asked.

 

“Well, you’re more likely to, but that doesn’t mean you will,” the tom meowed.  Wolf nodded, some of the snow covering her fur falling off in clumps.  Water let out a purr.  His tail flicked as she got back into a fighting stance.  She dug her claws into the snow under her, and they scraped against the stone.  Water ran at her once again.  

 

Wolf just barely dodged as his fangs snapped next to her ear.  She leaped towards him, aiming for his back, but she missed.  Instead, she barreled into his side, which threw him off of his paws.  The two of them rolled in the snow a few times, their fur getting covered in snow.  Wolf found herself pinned to the ground.  Water’s paws were next to her head, and she looked up at the tom.  Water purred down at her.

 

“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Dawn meowed.  Water stepped off of Wolf.  The gray she-cat stood up and shook her fur, clumps of snow falling off of her.  Her fur fluffed up against the cold snow as Dawn and Screech led the way back to the cave.  

 

 _“If Howling Moon is a cat, how are we supposed to talk to them?”_ A wolf’s growl filled her ears, causing the she-cat to stop in her tracks.   _“The One Pack wouldn’t be that cruel, would they?”_

 

The other To-Be looked back at her.  “Wolf?”

 

_“But… Tall Leaves is the Medicine Wolf.  She must know what she’s talking about.”_

 

The two Prey-Hunters stopped and looked back at Wolf.  Her head and was hanging, and her amber eyes were glazed over.  

 

_“But how could the One Pack send a cat to save us?!”_

 

Wolf lost balance, but she didn’t notice as she fell on her side and her vision went black.  It was replaced a moment later by two wolves, one that was dark gray with white ears and the other that was a silverish-gray.  They were smaller than the other wolves she had seen.  

 

 _“They know what they’re doing, right? They have to!”_ the silverish wolf whimpered.   _“We can’t doubt them, Mountain’s Echo.  Honest Stone wouldn’t!”_

 

 _“Forget Honest Stone, Silver Breeze!”_ Silver Breeze’s eyes widened, hurt.   _“This is about the One Pack, not him!”_

 

 _“But don’t you remember the prophecy? ‘Your savior will come with the sound of the Howling Moon’.” What am I supposed to do?!_ Wolf thought.   _“They never said what Howling Moon was, and…”_ Silver Breeze let her voice trail off.  

 

 _“What?”_ Mountain’s Echo growled.

 

 _“Remember when Rain Spirit took us out of camp? And she brought us to the top of the mountain and she howled?”_ Mountain’s Echo nodded.   _“And… when we heard a yowl back?”_

 

The dark gray wolf took a few seconds to respond.   _“You’re saying… that was Howling Moon?”_ Silver Breeze nodded.   _“Then we have to go tell Panther’s Claw!”_ Wolf’s vision clouded, and she found herself laying in the snow.  

 

“Wolf!” Dawn meowed as she lifted up her head.  “Are you alright?”  Wolf nodded, and stood up, shaking her fur of snow once more.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she meowed.

  
“We’re taking you to go see Envy,” Screech meowed, her eyes narrowed.  Wolf nodded once again.


	17. While the Wolf Howls, The Raven Has Yet to Decide

WOLF QUICKLY TOLD ENVY ABOUT HER dream, and all the names from the ‘Wolf Tribe’, as the cats had started calling it, that she knew.  Panther’s Fall, Tall Leaves, Cat’s Claw, Silver Breeze, Honest Stone, Mountain’s Echo, and Rain Spirit.  

 

“They have strange names,” Envy murmured.  Wolf and Song nodded in agreement.  “Tell me about your next dream as soon as you have it.  You may leave.”  Wolf nodded and rose to her paws, quickly leaving the Cave of Shining Water.  She purred as she watched four bundles of fur creep out of the Nursery for the first time.  The Tribe cats stopped to watch as the four kits looked around the cave.  Wolf padded farther into the main cave and sat down, curling her tail around her paws.  Glint creeped over to the pond, putting his paw into the water.  He took it back out with a squeak.  Some other Tribe cats purred in amusement.  

 

Raven turned his eyes towards wolf and slowly made his way over to her.  Once he did, he craned his head up to look at the larger she-cat.  “Hi,” he meowed, his voice soft.  “I’m Raven Feather Found on Stone.”  Wolf purred.

 

“I know, Raven.  It’s nice to meet you.”  She lowered herself down so that the kit wouldn’t have to look so far up to see her face.  She hadn’t noticed how lean and tall she had gotten: her muscles had adjusted to leaping onto birds and crouching close to the ground while she was hunting.  “I’m Wolf that Howls at High Moon.”  Raven’s blue eyes brightened as he looked up at her.  

 

“Song told us that you were part of a prophecy, right?” he asked.  Wolf gulped.  She knew her sister had probably let it slip on accident while visiting the kits, but she still felt a bit surprised that she had told them.  Wolf nodded anyway.

 

“Y-yeah, I am,”  Moon padded up to the two.  

 

“Hey, Raven!” She said happily.  “I’m Moon in Lands Unknown,” she added.  Raven nodded.  

 

“You two are so skinny,” he meowed.  “Not all muscled like some of the other cats.”

 

“That’s because we’re Prey-Hunters, not Cave Guards.”  Raven looked confused as he tilted his head to the side.  

 

“What are those?”

 

“Prey-Hunters are the cats who catching prey for the Tribe, see?” Moon gestured with her tail towards the caught prey.  “We caught all of that,” she added.  “Wolf and I are the best Prey-Hunter To-Bes!” she bragged.  Raven didn’t respond.  

 

“Cave Guards are the cats that protect the cave and fight the other Tribes if they have to,” Wolf explained.  “To-Bes are cats like us: we’re training to be Prey-Hunters or Cave Guards.”

 

“And you’re a Prey-Hunter?” Raven asked.  Wolf nodded.  “When do I know if I’m a Cave Guard or Prey-Hunter?”

 

“Envy chooses for you on the day you become a To-Be,” Moon meowed.  “But it’s the Tribe of Endless Hunting that makes you into a Cave Guard or a Prey-Hunter.”  Wolf nudged Moon.

 

“That sounded smarter than you usually are,” she joked.

 

“Shut up,” she grumbled.

 

“Hey, Wolf?” Raven asked.  Wolf looked back down at the small black tom.  “I like you,” he said.  Wolf let out a purr.

 

“I like you, too, Raven.”  

 

“Someone has a fan!” Moon purred before bounding away from Wolf before she could catch her.  

 

“Can you leap that far?” Raven asked, his eyes wide.  Wolf nodded.  She realized that was still thinking about the two wolves that she had seen, Silver Breeze and Mountain’s Echo.  And she also wondered who Honest Stone was.  She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts clouding her mind.  

 

“Want to know what’s even cooler?” Wolf asked.  Raven nodded excitedly, bouncing up on his paws.  “Watch this and copy it as best as you can,” she meowed kindly, going into the hunter’s crouch.  She watched as Raven made his own sloppy stance and purred.  “Alright, follow me.”

 

“What’re we going to do?”  Wolf smiled.  

 

“I’m going to teach you how to ambush your littermates,” she meowed.  

 

* * *

 

 

It took a bit to be able to teach Raven how to stalk, but he was able to walk soundlessly enough to walk across the cave floor without his siblings being able to hear him.  The Tribe’s trained cats could, but for kits who were only a few days old? He had them cornered and they didn’t even know it.  Raven turned his eyes to Glint, a glimmer in them.  

 

“Go on,” Wolf murmured.  “Just make sure he doesn’t see you,” Raven creeped over towards his brother slowly, one pawstep after the other.  He was a bird’s length away before he pounced messily, landing on his brother’s tail.  He let out a small, squeaky yowl as his fur fluffed up.  Raven let out a laugh.  

 

Wolf purred as she walked over towards the brothers.  “You can’t beat a trained Prey-Hunter, Glint.”  

 

“Glint, this is Wolf That Howls at High Moon,” Raven introduced.  The black and white tom’s eyes widening.  

 

“The prophecy cat?” Wolf let out a sigh.  Did _everyone_ know about her being part of a prophecy? Raven nodded shyly.  “That’s so cool!” Glint meowed in a squeaky voice.  Raven took a step back and bumped against Wolf’s leg.  

  
Willow padded towards her kits, smiling at Wolf and letting out a purr.  “Come on, little ones.  Let’s go back to the Nursery,” she meowed.  They both let out mewls of complaint.  “Sh, you can come back out tomorrow,” the Queen meowed.  She turned tail and led the way back towards the den, the two kits on her heels.  She only stopped for a second before their other siblings joined them.


	18. Dean

WOLF AND RAVEN HAD GROWN CLOSE over the few days that they had met.  Raven made a habit of rushing towards her as soon as she stumbled into the cave with a heavy bird hanging from her jaws, usually having to be helped carrying it to the caught prey pile.  They would sit down by the pond and Raven would snuggle into her fur, listening as she told him about the hunting trip.  Raven would talk about how he wanted to be a Prey-Hunter so that he could spend more time with her, but Wolf would only purr in amusement at him.  

 

She quickly added him to the list of cats who treated her for who she was, not because she was part of a prophecy.  

 

“Hey Wolf! Hey Raven!” Moon meowed happily, sitting next to the two.  

 

“Hey, Moon,” Wolf meowed, her tail twitching around her paws.  Raven just let out a purr.  

 

“I think that the Prey-Hunters are going to start making us hunt at night,” Moon meowed.  Wolf let out a groan.

 

“Don’t they work us enough during the day? What prey is even going to be out at night?” the gray and black she cat asked, closing her amber eyes for a second and shaking her head.

 

Raven tilted his head.  “But don’t you like hunting, Wolf?” he asked.  She nodded.

 

“Yes, but it’s tiring.  When we go out hunting, we spend most of the day scenting and stalking,” Wolf exclaimed.

 

“When you first start, your aching all the time.  Then it stops, but you still have a few nights where you just want to curl up in your nest and sleep for a moon,” the other she-cat explained.  Raven shuddered.

 

“I’m not sure if I want to be a Prey-Hunter anymore,” he squeaked.  Wolf and Moon both let out a ‘mrow’ of laughter.  

 

“I don’t think that being a Cave Guard is any better.  When you’d be training, all that you’d be doing is fighting,” Moon meowed.  

 

“Either way, you’d be sore a lot,” Wolf added.  Raven let out a small sigh.  

 

“Training doesn’t sound so good now,” he meowed.  Both of the To-Bes let out a purr.

 

“You’ll enjoy it, trust me,” Moon meowed.  

 

“Moon! Wolf!” The two she-cats turned their heads at Stone’s voice.  “You have a hunting patrol.”  The two cats groaned again and stood up.  

 

“Goodnight, Raven,” Wolf meowed.  “I’ll see you again tomorrow, okay?” Raven nodded happily and pranced away, going to join his siblings.  The two To-Bes padded over to Stone.

 

“Who else is coming with?” Moon asked.

 

“Just us,” Stone meowed.  “No Cave Guards, either.  We’re going hunting alone.”  A purr rose up in his throat as smiles grew on the To-Bes’ faces.  “If we’re going to hunt all night, we might as well enjoy it.”  He turned tail and walked out of the Cave, Wolf and Moon on his heels.  

 

Stone quickly ordered them to split up as the moon rose.  Wolf didn’t hesitate to follow his order: she was hoping to find a big catch.  Or maybe she could get a good story to tell Raven when she woke up, which would probably be around High Sun.  

 

She quickly picked up a scent that she didn’t recognize, but she knew it was a cat.  She stiffened for a few seconds.   _This is the worst time to not have a Cave Guard around!_ she thought.  She remembered something that Ice had once told her as a kit: the Tribe never attacked intruders unless they attacked first.  Peaceful outsiders were welcome in all Sin Tribes.

 

With those words in mind, she creeped forward.  If she focused, she could smell a rabbit underneath the scent.  The cat smelled… warm in a way, and like the earth, along with something that she couldn’t place.  She dropped in the hunter’s crouch and creeped towards him from downwind.  The tom came into sight, his stance awkward on the slope of the mountain.  He had black, shining fur, but she was on the wrong side of him to see his eyes.  She waited for him to leap at the rabbit, which he did.  He landed a bit too far and skidded his paws on the stone, hissing in frustration and pain as the rabbit ran as fast as its legs could carry it.  

 

Wolf sat up.  “You’re hunting wrong for the mountains,” the tom jumped and turned around.  Wolf was startled at just how green his eyes were.  Leaf green couldn’t quite place the color, as if nature didn’t even dare to be that bright.  “Let me teach you the right way.”

 

His fur fluffed up and his eyes narrowed.  “Who are you?” he asked, unsheathing his claws.  Her eyes widened.

 

“I’m not going to hurt you.  I barely know how to fight,” she meowed.  His stance relaxed slightly and he tilted his head.  

 

“Then how do you live here? All the cats I talked to said that the mountains were dangerous.”  His meow was the deepest that she had ever heard, and sounded a bit rough.  

 

“The Cave Guards.  How else?” The tom just looked more confused.  “I can explain later, but right now you need to learn how to hunt the right way if you’re planning on staying here for a while.  Follow me,” Wolf stood and gestured with her tail for the tom to follow her farther down the mountain.  She heard his light pawsteps following.  

 

She sniffed the air, the smell of another rabbit filling her nose.  “Do you smell that?” she asked, looking towards the tom.  He sniffed and nodded.

 

“Barely.”

 

“Barely is good enough.”  She crouched down and creeped forward towards the rabbit.  She could sense that the tom was following her, even though he had become silent.  Soon enough, the rabbit came into her vision and she froze in her tracks.  The tom kept creeping forward, but she stopped him with her tail.  “Watch,” she murmured, not taking her eyes off of her prey.  She stayed still, barely even breathing for a while until she heard a bird diving.  As soon as its talons grabbed the rabbit, she hissed “Now!” and leaped for the bird.  She landed easily on its back, applying all of her weight onto it and forcing it to the ground.  She quickly snapped its neck.

 

Wolf looked up at the tom with a purr.  “Now we get the bird and the rabbit.”

 

The tom sat up and looked at the prey.  “How did you come up with that?”

 

“The stories are that our ancestors were always attacked by birds, and noticed that they were hunting.  So, if they waited long enough for the birds to catch smaller prey, than we could catch them both,” Wolf explained.  She got off of the bird and padded towards the tom.  “Do you want to keep hunting?” she asked.  

 

“Sure, Kitten.”  Wolf tilted her head.

 

“Kitten?” she asked.

 

“Well, I don’t know what your name is.”

 

Wolf placed her paw in front of her and bowed her head slightly.  “I’m Wolf that Howls at High Moon.”  

 

The tom looked surprised for a few heartbeats.  “Could… could you repeat that?”

 

She let out a ‘mrow’ of laughter.  “Cats in my Tribe call me Wolf.”

 

He thought for a few moments before he shook his head.  “I like Kitten better.  I’ll keep calling you that.”

 

 _Great, a third name?_ Wolf thought.  “What about you? What’s your name?”

 

“Dean,” he meowed.  Wolf nodded.  

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” she meowed.  She heard some paw steps coming towards them.  She turned her head towards the sound, Dean following her gaze.  

 

Moon only padded faster towards them once she saw Dean.  “Who’s this?” she asked.

 

“Dean,” Wolf meowed.  Moon nodded, going through the same introduction as Wolf had.

 

“Are all the names in your Cl- um… Tribe long and complicated?” Dean asked.  

 

“We shorten them,” Moon defended.

 

“I know a cat in The Tribe of Sacred Wrath named Crest, but she was a loner,” Wolf added.  Dean just nodded.  Moon looked at the bird behind Wolf.

 

“Did you catch that?” she asked.  Wolf nodded.  “I haven’t been able to catch anything all night.  I found Stone a little bit ago, he said that after we catch something we can go back to the cave.”

 

“Than we should find something for you to catch,” Wolf replied.  She looked back at Dean.  “I’m guessing you want to come with.”

  
The tom shrugged.  “Sure, why not?”


	19. Welcome to The Tribe

WOLF COULD FEEL DEAN FOLLOWING AT her heels as Moon and her wandered the mountain.  He had offered to carry the prey, since he didn’t know the mountain as well as the To-Bes’ did.  Wolf could already tell that he wasn’t the type to admit something like that, so instead he had just said ‘You lead the way, Kitten.’  That led to an explanation of Wolf’s new nickname to Moon.  

 

Moon had just laughed at her.

 

It was just after High Moon when Moon had finally caught something, no matter how small and scrawny the rabbit was.  

 

“Are you sure that I can go to your cave?” Dean asked, his voice muffled by the bird.  

 

“Envy lets anyone in, as long as they don’t hurt the Tribe.  You’ll be fine,” Moon meowed.  Wolf nodded, letting out a yawn as she padded towards the Cave.  

 

“We’re getting close,” Wolf told the tom.  A while later, the amber eyed she-cat padded through the entrance.  She nodded at Leopard and Flower.

 

“Who’s this?” Flower asked.  

 

“Dean.  I found him hunting on the mountain,” Wolf meowed.

 

The light colored she-cat nodded and turned her head to Leopard.  “Go get Envy.  Tell him we have a visitor.”  Leopard nodded, padding into the Cave with the loner and the Prey-Hunters.  Leopard vanished into the tunnel to The Cave of Shining Water as Dean and Moon laid the prey on the caught prey pile.  

 

“Who was that?” Dean asked.

 

“The orange tom was Wolf’s brother, Leopard that Plays in Snow.  He’s the only sibling to be a Cave Guard.  The other was another Cave Guard, Flower that Blooms in Shade,” Moon explained.

 

“The only sibling?” Dean asked.

 

“I have two littermates.  My sister, Song that Plays with Mountain Wind, is training to be the next Healer.”  Even though Wolf was tired, she held her head high with pride for her littermate.  

 

“The next Healer?”

 

“The Healer is the leader of our Tribes,” Moon meowed.  “They interpret signs from The Tribe of Endless Hunting, heal us, and lead us.”

 

“The next Healer is chosen when they become a To-Be.  When the old Healer dies, they take on their name, in our case, Envy that Causes Death, and becomes the new Healer,” Wolf added.

 

“Sounds traditional,” Dean meowed.

 

Wolf shrugged.  “I guess that’s just how the Tribes are.”  Leopard padded back out of the cave.  “Call them Envy, Song, and Leopard,” she whispered.  Dean looked at her.  “You looked like you were having trouble with the short versions of our names.”  He nodded.

 

“Envy wants to see you,” Leopard meowed.  He had gotten bigger than when him, Wolf, and Song used to play as kits.  His voice had also gained the ability to get stronger when he needed it too, but playful when we wanted to.  

 

“Wish me luck, Kitten,” Dean meowed happily.  Leopard’s tail flicked in annoyance before he turned and led the dark colored tom towards the cave at the back of the chamber.

 

“Let’s go get some sleep,” Moon meowed.  Wolf nodded, following the silver furred she-cat to the To-Bes den.  Wolf curled up in her nest and fell asleep in an instant.  

 

* * *

 

Wolf woke up to a small paw tapping her face.  She opened one of her eyes half way to see Raven in front of her with a sly smile on his furry face.  “Me, Glint, Shade, and Place are playing hide and seek, so can I hide with you in here?” Wolf nodded tiredly as Raven curled up next to her.  “Wolf?” he asked quietly.  Wolf let out a quiet ‘mm?’

 

“Who’s that black tom?”

 

“Let me sleep, Raven.  I’ll tell you later,” she murmured.  She felt Raven sigh.  

 

“Fine,” he muttered.  Wolf rested her tail by his flank, curling it around one of his paws.  Wolf heard pawsteps going towards her and Raven.  

 

“Who’s this?” Dean’s voice asked.  Wolf groaned again and opened her eyes.  

 

“Why can no one ever let me sleep?” she asked.  

 

“Sorry, Kitten,” he meowed.  

 

“I’m Raven Feather Found on Stone,” Raven said quietly.  “Why did you call Wolf Kitten?”

 

“It’s a nickname,” Dean responded.  “I’m Dean.”

 

“That’s a weird nickname,” Raven meowed.

 

“I like it,” Dean defended.  Wolf let out a yawn and opened her eyes.  She looked around the den.  

 

“Where’s Moon?” she asked.  

 

“I think she’s out with Dew and Ash,” Raven meowed.  Dean leaned over towards her ear.

 

“What should I call him?” he asked.

 

“Raven,” Wolf meowed, closing her eyes again.

 

“Wolf doesn’t like mornings,” Raven meowed.  

 

“I can tell.”  Wolf heard a squeak coming from the den’s entrance, and felt Raven stand up and run.  Wolf sighed and opened her eyes again, stretching before she sat up in her nest.  She quickly groomed her fur, turning back to Dean.  “Good morning,” he purred.  Wolf muttered something under her breath and padded out of the den, Dean on her heels.

 

“I still don’t really get the Prey-Hunters/Cave Guard thing,” he meowed.  “I mean, how do you tell the difference?”

 

Wolf stopped and looked back at him.  “It’s based on what job we’re more suited for.  If you’re small and agile, Envy makes you a Prey-Hunter.  If you’re stronger, then he’ll make you a Cave Guard.”  

 

“And… you don’t get to choose?”

 

“I’ve heard stories of cats switching, but it rarely ever happens,” Wolf meowed.  “Moon wanted to be a Cave Guard, but she says that she’ll be a better part of the Tribe if she stays a Prey-Hunter.”

 

“And… what’s The Tribe of Endless Hunting?”  

 

Wolf couldn’t help but let out an amused purr.  To her, it just seemed like the dumbest question in the world.  Even when Moon and her explained how the Tribe worked to Raven, he didn’t ask about The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  “They’re our ancestors,” she meowed.  Dean nodded.  

 

“You really like it here, don’t you?”  Wolf tilted her head.

 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

 

“Well, it’s just…” Dean’s voice trailed off for a few seconds.  “Don’t you want to go out? Explore the world?”  Wolf stiffened for a few seconds.

 

“I-I can’t,” she meowed, looking down.  “Even if I could, I’ve never really thought about the world outside of the mountains.”  She smiled.  “Is that why you ended up here? You’re exploring the world?”  He nodded again.

 

“Wolf!” The gray she-cat turned to look at Glow, whose tail was flicking from side to side impatiently.  “Hunting patrol,” she meowed.  

 

“C’mon, Glow,” River meowed.  “She spent most of the night hunting last night, and she brought back Dean.  Give her a day off.”  Glow thought for a few seconds before she let out a groan.

 

“Fine.  Nevermind, Wolf,” Glow grumbled.  She turned tail and padded out of the Cave, a small group of Prey-Hunters and Cave Guards on her tail.

 

“Why is Leopard going with them?” Dean asked.  “Isn’t he a Cave Guard?”  Wolf nodded.

 

“Like you said when we met, the mountains are dangerous.  Cave Guards always go on hunting patrols.”  

 

“You and Moon were alone last night,” he pointed out.

 

“Stone took us out on his own.”  

 

“What’s Stone’s full name?”

 

“Stone Jutting from Grass.”

 

Dean shook his head.  “Your names are kind of cool, in a way.  Too complicated for me, though.”  Wolf let out a purr.

“I don’t even know what yours would be.  What kind of name are we supposed to get from Dean?” Dean only flicked her ear with his paw.

 

“Whatever you say, Kitten.”  Wolf nudged the larger tom, but he didn’t even move.  She noticed a bit of silver at the corner of her eye, and turned to look.  Song poked her head out of the tunnel to The Cave of Shining Water and locked eyes with Wolf.  She padded out towards them.

 

“Hey, Song,” Wolf meowed.  Song nodded to both of them.

 

“I never really got to introduce myself,” she meowed.  

 

“I already know who you are,” Dean meowed.  “Kitten told me.”

 

Song turned towards Wolf.  “Kitten?”

 

Wolf looked away from Song.  “I can’t stop bragging about my Healer sister,” she meowed nervously.  

 

“I was talking about the name, not why he knows who I am.”

 

“I started calling her that before I learned her name,” Dean explained.

 

“But you know her name now.”

 

“I like Kitten better.”

 

Song’s eyes widened.  “Our names are given to us by the Tribe of Endless Hunting!”

 

“Song, he’s not from the Tribes,” Wolf meowed.  “He doesn’t have to like my name, but I’m proud of it.  Like we’re supposed to be.”  Song nodded before looking back at Dean.

 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that…” she shook her head.  “Just forget about it.”

 

“Uh… sure.  No problem,” he meowed.

 

Song looked back at Wolf.  “Do you know if there’s any Cave Guards around? I need to gather herbs.”

 

Wolf nodded.  “I don’t think I’ve seen Water or Stripes leave the Cave.”  Song nodded and padded away.

 

“Stripes? Was he a kittypet?” Wolf looked over at Dean.

 

“Kittypet?”

 

Dean blinked before he responded.  “They’re cats owned by Twolegs.”

 

“Two… legs?” Wolf tilted her head.  

 

“You know, those things who stand on their hindlegs with a patch of fur on their heads?” Wolf still looked confused.  Dean let out a purr.  “You’ve never heard of Twolegs? Aren’t you lucky.”

 

“A-anyway, no, Stripes wasn’t a… kittypet.  His full name is Stripes that Mark our Ancestors.”  Dean nodded again.  

 

“Hey, I was hoping…” Dean let his voice trail off for a few seconds.  “Would you mind showing me around the place?”

  
Wolf shrugged with a smile on her face.  “Sure, why not?”


	20. Old Story, New Listener

DEAN HAD TAKEN TO FOLLOWING WOLF around the Cave while he was staying with the Tribe, often being joined by Raven and Moon.  Wolf also knew that, because of her wolf dreams, that Dean would find out about the prophecy eventually.  

 

_ “How are we supposed to find a cat?” _ Panther’s Fall growled.  His tail swished angrily from side to side.   _ “How are we even supposed to  _ speak _ to it?!” _ All of her dreams since the vision she had about Silver Breeze and Mountain’s Echo had been about the wolves figuring out why the One Pack had cursed them instead of saved them.  

 

_ “The One Pack knows what they’re doing.  If Howling Moon is a cat, they will find a way to talk to us,” _ Tall Leaves told him.  With that, her dream ended.  She sat up in her nest.  Dean lifted up his head from the nest next to her.  

 

“You okay?” he asked.  “You don’t usually get up this early,” he meowed with a yawn.  

 

“I-I… uh…” instead of answering him, she stood up and left the den.  She bounded over to The Cave of Shining Water, going to Envy.  She stood at the end of the tunnel, both Song and Envy turning their heads to look at her.  Song had been spending more time sleeping in here than in the To-Bes den.  “I had another dream,” she meowed.  

 

“Tell us about it,” Envy meowed.  She quickly explained the dream to them: which was more of the same.  They nodded.

 

“They seem panicked,” Song meowed.  “Like… you’re their last hope.”  Wolf stiffened.

 

“Yeah, that’s not helping me,” she growled.  

 

“I’m sorry,” Song meowed.

 

“But she’s right,” Envy added.  “I think that the wolves believe that you’re the only thing that can save them.”  Wolf didn’t have a chance to respond before she was dismissed, which she didn’t hesitate to follow.  Dean was sitting outside of the To-Bes den, and brightened when he saw her.  Wolf, however, didn’t.  She ran right past him and out of the Cave, going as fast as her paws would carry her towards the top of the mountain.  She stopped near the peak and curled up, covering her nose with her tail.

 

She could hear pawsteps coming towards her.  Wolf sniffed the air, but she couldn’t smell as well with her tail covering her nose.  Still, she recognized Dean’s scent.  He didn’t say anything, he just sat down next to her and curled her tail around his paws.  

 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she meowed.  “Envy told me that I was their last hope.  They sound so desperate,” she curled into a tighter ball.  

 

“You could come with me.”  Wolf lifted her head and looked at him.  “Explore the world.”

 

She shook her head.  “I told you, I can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’m… I’m part of a prophecy,” Wolf meowed quietly.  Dean was silent.  “Gluttony told the rest of the Tribes about it during a Gathering.   _ Only the source of their song can show the dance and way of your fears. _ Right after that, the wolves started howling.  We assumed it was a sign from The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  I’m the only cat in the Tribes who has the name ‘Wolf’.”

 

“That doesn’t mean it’s about you,” Dean meowed.

 

“I have these… dreams.  About wolves.  The first one was when a wolf named Leaping Storm, and he called me Howling Moon.  The second…” Wolf shuddered.  “I don’t know what it meant.  It was… just a bunch of voices, ending with ‘we need to find Howling Moon’.  The others have just been the wolves arguing about why I’m a cat: some think that they were betrayed by the One Pack (whoever they are), and others think that I’d find a way.”  She sat up and pressed herself against Dean.  “They have their own prophecy about me, too.   _ Your savior will come with the sound of the Howling Moon. _  And… I can speak wolf.”  Wolf hung her head.  “They sound so desperate, and I’m supposed to save them.”

 

Dean was silent for a few moments before heaving a sigh.  “Well, if you won’t leave, then I’ll stay.”  Wolf’s eyes widened and she looked up at him.  “I’ll ask Envy if I can join the Tribe.”  

 

“You don’t have to do that!” Wolf meowed.  “I’m the one who has to stay, not you.  You wanted to travel the world, right?”

 

Dean smiled.  “And miss out on watching you save the wolves? I’m not going to leave that behind, Kitten.”


	21. Welcome to The Tribe

DEAN SAT WITH HIS HEAD TALL at the center of the pond.  His fur was groomed so that it shined, mostly because Wolf and Raven had had to pin him down to make it that way.  It seemed like the tom had let them, though.  He easily could have gotten away from the Prey-Hunter and kit.  

 

It didn’t take long for Envy and Song to come into the main Cave and leap onto the boulder.  The rest of the Tribe looked up at the Healer.

 

“Never thought Dean would join the Tribe,” Moon meowed.

 

“Neither did I,” Wolf whispered back.

 

“Dean has decided to join our Tribe,” Envy began.  “He is a powerful cat, but he isn’t accustomed to living in the mountains.  His ancestors gifted him with strength and size.  He is to join the To-Bes, and to be trained as a Cave Guard.”  Envy looked over at the cats gathered around the pond as Dean stood and joined the other Cave Guards.  “We welcome you as a To-Be of The Tribe of Hidden Envy.”

 

“We welcome you,” the cats chorused.  Envy turned around and went back to where he had come from with Song on his heels.  Raven ran over towards the new Tribe cat as the Prey-Hunters padded over to them.  

 

“Wasn’t it worth it to have your fur clean?” Raven asked cheekily.  

 

“Shut it,” Dean grumbled.  Wolf purred.  

 

“Having your fur clean won’t kill you,” she meowed.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean meowed, his tail flicking.  Leopard padded towards Dean, having to look up slightly.  

 

“We won’t have any training until tomorrow,” he meowed.  “It’s already almost High Moon.”  

 

“We should get some sleep,” Moon meowed.  “If Wolf and I don’t help catch a huge eagle tomorrow Glow is going to have us catch all the prey for a moon.”

 

“She wouldn’t!” Leopard meowed.  “That’s impossible!”

 

“We’re talking about the cat that said that Cave Guards didn’t have to work as hard as Prey-Hunters,” Wolf meowed.  Leopard just looked away.  

 

“See you later, Kitten,” Dean meowed.  Leopard visibly stiffened at the nick name.

 

Wolf nodded.  “Goodnight, Dean,” she meowed.  Dean purred as Wolf and Moon turned around to go back to the To-Bes den.  Both of them laid down in their nests and fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Wolf woke up to a paw shaking her awake.  “C’mon Wolf, don’t make Glow any more angry at us,” Moon meowed.

 

Neither of them (or Leaf, for that matter) had had much luck with hunting the past few days.  No birds seemed to be flying down at their prey, and they would wait too long and lose the rabbits and mice.  Glow was just about to explode on them.  

 

“I’ve got training today, too, Kitten,” she heard Dean meow.  “We’ll suffer together, alright?” Wolf lifted her head with a yawn and opened her eyes.  She sat up in her nest and stretched.

 

“Fine,” she mumbled before she led the way out of the den.  Leaf bounded towards them.

 

“I’m glad that I don’t have to hunt alone with Glow.”

 

“What do you mean, hunt alone?” Moon asked.

 

“Glow’s making all of us go hunting alone with her.  She thinks it’ll make us hunt better.”

 

“Wolf! Leaf! Moon!” Glow yowled.  “Hurry up!”

 

Wolf turned to look over at Dean.  “Good luck with training.”  The tom let out a purr.

 

“If fighting in the mountains is anything like hunting, it should be interesting.”  Wolf nodded before she and the other To-Bes bounded towards the white she-cat.  Glow didn’t hesitate for a second before leading them out of the Cave, along with two Cave Guards, Cloud and Storm.  

 

Glow didn’t slow down for a heartbeat.  If anything, she only got faster.  The three To-Be’s struggled a bit to keep up with the she-cat.  She stopped near the peak of the mountain.  

 

“We don’t hunt here often, so there should be something,” Glow meowed.  Wolf sniffed the air.  She watched out of the corner of her eye as Leaf got into a hunter’s crouch and creeped forward.  She quickly followed in her pawsteps, slinking behind the older she-cat easily.  Moon and Glow followed soon after.  All four cats stopped two eagle-lengths away from a mouse.  It took a while for a bird to drop down, but at least one did.  No cat hesitated to leap onto the bird, weighing it down.  

  
Glow was the one who killed the bird.  All of the Prey-Hunters leaped off of it.  Glow looked back at the two three To-Be’s and nodded.  “Not bad,” her and Leaf picked up the bird and led the way back to the cave.


	22. Fall of Cat's Claw

WOLF PADDED HAPPILY INTO THE CAVE, a large bird’s wings clamped in her jaws.  Her, Moon, and Night all guided the large bird to the caught prey pile.  As soon as the bird touched the stone, a howl broke through the air, quickly followed by another and another.  The cats in the cave, even Dean (Wolf guessed where he was from, they didn’t get a lot of wolves) stiffened.  Wolf, on the other paw, collapsed onto the ground.  

 

_The wolves around the gray and black she-cat ran quickly passed her.  Wolf followed, bounding after the pack that she had gotten to know.  She knew that they wouldn’t stay in one place for long, but she had never seen them running like this before._

 

_“It’s good to see you again, Howling Moon.”  Wolf turned her head to look up at the familiar shape of Leaping Storm.  He was running alongside her, easily keeping up with the he pack._

 

_“What’s going on?” Wolf asked._

 

_“There was a fight between two of the packs.”  Leaping Storm pointed his muzzle towards the front of the pack.  “There’s been a death.”_

 

_Wolf’s head snapped forwards, looking at each wolf carefully.  Parts of their fur were stained crimson, and Panther’s Fall held the limp body of Cat’s Claw in his jaws.  Wolf noticed her flank slowly rising up and down._

 

_“She’s not dead yet!”_

 

_“But she will be,” Leaping Storm growled.  “Her throat was ripped open.  Even the best Medicine Wolves can’t heal that.”_

 

_“Is that why I’m here?” The amber eyed cat asked.  “To take Cat’s Claw to the pack’s Tribe of Endless Hunting?”_

 

_“No,” the wolf answered._

 

_“But you said she’s dying.”_

 

_“She’ll be reincarnated, and become One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl, and known as Yowl.”_

 

_“And her pack name?”_

 

_“That’s for her mother to decide.”_

 

_“When will she be born?”_

 

_“Soon.  One of the wolves at camp has already started giving birth.”  Wolf watched as the larger animals disappeared into the earth.  She knew that it was a tunnel and followed them in, her eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.  The pack followed the tunnel as it twisted and turned until it opened up into a cave.  Wolf could hear growls of pain, and took a pawstep towards them, but Leaping Storm stopped her.  “We have to greet Cat’s Claw.”  The she-cat turned her eyes back to the dying she-wolf._

 

_Panther’s Fall had set her in the center of the cave.  Her once light brown fur was slowly turning to a dark crimson.  Finally, her flank stopped heaving with every struggled and painful breath._

 

_Everything was quiet for a few heartbeats.  Too quiet.  Then Panther’s Fall lifted his head and let out a mournful howl.  The rest of the pack joined in, until one by one, they were all howling.  Leaping Storm lifted his own head and gave his own howl.  Wolf took it as a sign to join in, and gave out her own yowl.  The same sound that left her when she was a kit left her jaws once more._

 

_Once the yowl ended, Cat’s Claw was standing above her own body.  She had stars caught in her fur, which was no longer stained crimson.  She made eye contact with Leaping Storm and padded over to him.  She turned her eyes to Wolf._

 

_“What’s a cat doing here, Leaping Storm?” She asked._

 

_“Go on, introduce yourself,” the larger wolf ordered.  Wolf stood up, put one paw in front of her, and bowed her head slightly._

 

_“I’m Wolf that Howls at High Moon, but your pack call me Howling Moon.”_

 

 _Cat’s Claw’s eyes widened.  “_ This _is Howling Moon?”  Leaping Storm nodded.  “But why is she taking me to the One Pack?”_

 

_“You’re not going to join our ranks just yet,” the wolf growled.  “You’re going to be reincarnated.”_

 

_Wolf nodded.  “You’ll have a Tribe name and everything.”_

 

_“What?” Cat’s Claw asked._

 

_“Like how you call me Howling Moon,” Wolf told her.  “You’ll be called One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl.”_

 

_The small wolf was quiet for a few heartbeats.  “Your names are long,” she whimpered._

 

_“We shorten them!” Wolf defended.  Leaping Storm stood up and started padding towards the pained whimpers without a word.  Wolf and Cat’s Call quickly followed on his heels.  He went into a small den.  Wolf immediately recognized Tall Leaves, but she didn’t know the light brown one.  Two of the pups were already born, and now she was on the third._

 

_“This is the last one, Rose’s Aura,” Tall Leaves growled.  After a few heartbeats, the wolf pushed out a light brown wolf._

 

_“That’s you,” Leaping Storm barked.  Cat’s Claw nodded and hesitantly padded towards the pup.  She cast one last glance at Wolf before she touched her nose to her new body’s fur and disappeared, her eyes staying a heartbeat longer than the rest of her body._

 

_The pup immediately started crying, and looking for warmth and milk._

 

_“Pups, or cubs, or whatever are so small,” Wolf growled._

 

_“They’ll grow,” Leaping Storm told her.  A large, gray wolf with a darker gray undercoat barreled into the den and looked at the cubs, a soft look filling his eyes.  Wolf didn’t have to think much to know that this was the father.  Yowl and the rest of her siblings were pushed gently towards Rose’s Aura’s belly by Tall Leaves.  He slowly creeped towards her and sat down next to her._

 

_“They’re beautiful,” he murmured.  Rose’s Aura looked up at him._

 

_“Congratulations, Gray Blaze,” Tall Leaves told them as she left the den._

 

_“What will we name them?” Gray Blaze asked._

 

_“I like the sound of Ocean’s Wave,” Rose’s Aura whimpered.  Gray Blaze nodded in agreement._

 

_“Ocean’s Wave for the oldest,” he growled lowly, looking down at a gray wolf._

 

_“And Hawk’s Call for the second oldest,” Rose’s Aura added.  Gray Blaze nodded once more.  “And Cat’s Glory.”_

 

_Gray Blaze looked at his mate.  “You know that-”_

 

_“Of course I know,” she whimpered softly.  “She was my sister, and I want to name one of our pups after her.”  Gray Blaze nodded._

 

_“Cat’s Glory it is.”_

 

_Panther’s Fall creeped into the den a few heartbeats later.  “So you’ve named them?” he asked.  His voice was tired.  Gray Blaze nodded._

 

_“Ocean’s Wave, Hawk’s Call, and Cat’s Glory.”  The Alpha nodded._

 

_“They’ll make good additions to the Kindness Pack.”_

 

* * *

 

“Wolf! Wolf, wake up!” Wolf eyes snapped open at the sound of Dean’s voice.  She looked up at the large tom.  He let out a sigh and muttered something under his breath.  Wolf could just barely hear it, and she guessed that she was the only one who could.  “Oh, thank StarClan.”   _StarClan?_ Wolf thought.  She shook it off as he helped her to her paws.  Envy and Song emerged from the Cave of Shining Water.  

 

“We have received a sign from The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  It is time for a telling.”  The Tribe turned towards them as they disappeared back into the tunnel and followed them.  Wolf started padding towards it with the rest of the Tribe, Dean sticking close to her side.

 

“Just walk with us and pretend that you know what you’re doing,” Wolf hissed to him.  He nodded.

 

“When the Tribe of Endless Hunting calls, we come to listen.”  Song joined Envy in saying it this time.

 

“In rock and pool, in air and light on water, through fall of prey and cry of kit, through scrape of claw and beat of blood, we hear you.”  Wolf watched out of the corner of her eye as Dean looked around, mystified.  

 

“That was a bit creepy, Kitten,” he hissed into her ear.  She fought back a purr.  The cats flooded into the cave and sat down.  Dean pressed himself close to Wolf as he watched Envy look from pool to pool.

 

“We stand in the Cave of Shining Water,” Envy began.  “Moonrise is here, caught in rock and in water as it always has been and always will be.  We call upon the Tribe of Endless Hunting to show us your will.”

 

“Show us your will.”

 

Envy looked into the largest pool of water.  “We greet you, Tribe of Endless Hunting, and thank you once again for the prophecy of dances and ways.”

 

“We thank you.”

 

“Tribe of Endless Hunting, we thank you for showing Wolf visions of the Wolf Tribe.”  

 

“We thank you.”  Envy turned his green eyes to his Tribe.  “Wolf, come forward.”  The Prey-Hunter stood and padded forward, towards the Tribe’s Healer.  “You’ve had another vision,” it wasn’t a question.  Wolf nodded.

 

“There’s a wolf like me with the Wolf Tribe now.”  Murmuring spread through the cave.  Envy lifted his tail for silence.

 

“What do you mean, ‘a wolf like you’?” he asked.

 

“She’ll be able to understand Cat Speak, and get visions of us,” Wolf meowed.  “A-at least, I think so.  Leaping Storm only told me her Tribe name.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl, known as Yowl.”

 

Envy nodded.  “May she pride herself on her name, as it is given to her by the Tribe of Endless Hunting.”


	23. Pack Allegiances

**AUTHOR’S NOTE**

**Yes, the pack names are kind of stupid.  But these are the opposites of the sins in order.**

 

**K I N D N E S S  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Panther’s Fall:** A black wolf with a white undercoat and amber eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Tall Leaves:** A white she-wolf with white fur with brown spots and brown eyes.

 

 **Betas-** **Gray Blaze:** A gray wolf with a white undercoat and dark blue eyes.

 

 **Badger’s Step:** A pitch black wolf with dark amber eyes.

 

 **Rain Spirit:** A gray she-wolf with a silver undercoat and bright blue eyes

 

 **Gammas-** **Fire’s Frost:** A reddish-brown wolf with amber eyes.

 

 **Feather Cloud:** A pure white she-wolf with dazzling blue eyes.

 

 **Storm Dust:** A brown and black wolf with brown eyes.

 

 **Tail Flame:** A black wolf with white legs and dark green eyes.

 

 **Ash Song:** A light gray wolf with dusty brown eyes.

 

 **Rose’s Aura:** A light brown she-wolf with a white undercoat and pinkish-amber eyes.

 

 **Snow’s Mist:** A white and gray she-wolf with dark green eyes.

 

 **Omegas-** **Dream Thorn:** A light brown wolf with dark brown eyes.  

 

 **Mountain’s Echo:** A dark gray wolf with white ears and brown eyes.

 

 **Silver Breeze:** A small, silverish-gray she-wolf with striking blue eyes.

 

 **Hazel’s Stripe:** A hazel-brown wolf with darker paws and leaf green eyes.

 

 **Tiger’s Wish:** A light brown and black she-wolf with amber eyes.

 

 **Moon’s Storm:** A dusty white she-wolf with dark brown eyes.

 

 **Night’s Shadow:** A black wolf with a light gray undercoat and rare, violet eyes.

 

 **Fast Flight:** A light gray, almost white with a dark gray undercoat and neutral, gray eyes.

 

 **Loyal Blaze:** A reddish-brown she-wolf with a white undercoat and sparkling green eyes.

 

 **Honest Stone:** A rock. (No, seriously I don't even know it was my friends idea I swear)

 

 **Pups-** **Ocean’s Wave:** A brown wolf with amber eyes.

 

 **Hawk’s Call:** A dark gray wolf with pinkish-amber eyes.

 

 **Cat’s Glory:** A small, light brown she-wolf with light amber eyes.

 

**P A T I E N C E  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Sandy Creek:** A tan wolf with brown eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Ice’s Flaw:** A pale blue-gray she-wolf with bluish-gray eyes.

 

 **Betas- Fox Runs: ** A large, reddish-brown wolf with white paws and tip of his tail and amber eyes.

 

 **Gammas- Rock Heart: ** A sandy brown she-wolf with dark copper stripes and brown eyes.

 **Running Bear:** A dark brown, almost black she-wolf with yellow eyes

 **Wind's Run:** A wolf with dark brown, almost black fur and a sprinkling of gray hairs, and dark brown eyes.  He has a scar across one of his eyes.

 

 **Omegas- Raven's Shriek: ** A small, black she-wolf with brown eyes (Medicine Wolf)

 **Sparks Fly:** A dark brown she-wolf with dark eyes

 

**H U M I L I T Y  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Rappid Fox:** A reddish-gray she-wolf with a white tail and dark eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Mouse Haven:** A gray wolf with blue eyes.

 

**Betas-**

**Gammas-**

**Omegas-**

 

**C H A R I T Y  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Jagged Grass:** A pale, greenish-gray wolf with grass green eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Strong Vine:** A black wolf with a gray undercoat and dark green eyes.

 

**Betas-**

**Gammas-**

**Omegas-**

 

**T E M P A R E N C E  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Hail’s Glow:** A pure white she-wolf with amber eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Neck’s Feather:** A small, brown she-wolf with blue eyes.

 

**Betas-**

**Gammas-**

**Omegas-**

 

**C H A S T I T Y  P A CK**

**Alpha-** **Feather’s Dust:** A dusty white she-wolf with a dark gray undercoat with gray eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Sky Flower:** A light brown she-wolf with pinkish-amber eyes.

 **  
** **Betas-**

**Gammas-**

**Omegas-**

 

**D I L I G E N C E  P A C K**

**Alpha-** **Ivy Vole:** A light gray wolf with ivy green eyes.

 

 **Medicine Wolf-** **Needle’s Heart:** A light gray wolf with a black undercoat and blue eyes.

 

**Betas-**

**Gammas-**

**Omegas- Owl's Wing: ** A brown and cream wolf with green eyes

 **Blazing Pine:**  A large, reddish-brown wolf with amber eyes

 

 

**Again, submit your own characters! Here’s the form:**

 

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Personality:**

**Looks:**

**Pack:**

**Rank (Keep in mind, I’m having it so that the Omegas are like To-Bes/apprentices, then they go to either Medicine Wolf, Beta, or Gamma until they die :D)**

**Other:**

 

_Raven's Shriek kindly submitted by letusdance over Fanfiction.net_

_Owl's Wing and Blazing Pine kindly submitted by A over Fanfiction.net_

_Fox Runs, Rock Heart, Running Bear, Sparks Fly, and Wind's Run kindly submitted by Ginnystar over Archive of Our Own._


	24. Catching Up With The Tribes

“THE GATHERING IS TONIGHT.  LEAF, MOON, Song, Water, Breeze, Wolf, Dean, Dawn, Night, Glow, Stone, Screech, River, Fern, Hiss, Cloud, Storm, and Wind will be going.”  Envy leaped off the boulder and led the way out of the cave.  They raced down the mountain, not even slowing down until they reached the clearing.  The Tribe of Lost Lust and The Tribe of Sacred Wrath were already there.  Wolf looked around, trying to find a familiar face.  Once she caught a glimpse of a familiar, dark pelt.  She slid through the group of cats, Dean following in her paw steps.

 

“Ember!” Wolf meowed.  The cat turned her head, smiling when she saw the gray she-cat.

 

“Wolf!” Wolf looked at Crest and Pool, and an unfamiliar black furred, black eyed she-cat.  “Who’s this?”  Ember asked, looking at Dean.

 

“Oh, this is Dean.  He joined our Tribe a few days ago, and he’s training to be a Cave Guard.  Dean, these are Ember that Glows After Twilight, Pool of Falling Stones, and Crest.  I… don’t know you, though.”

 

“Just Dean?” Ember asked.  

 

“You can’t really make a Tribe name out of it,” Dean meowed.  The black she-cat let out a sigh, before putting one paw in front of her and bowed her head.

 

“I’m Return of The Bugs,” she mewed.  Wolf bowed her head in response, putting her paw in front of her, and introduced herself.  

 

“Have you seen Leopard since you got here?” Ember asked.  Dean shook his head.

 

“He’s not here,” he meowed.  Ember nodded.  “Besides, I’ve been getting the hint lately that he doesn’t like me.”  

 

“I think it’s more that he’s protective of Wolf,” Moon meowed as she sat down next to Pool.  “And it’s a bit weird to us that you don’t call her by her name.”

 

Return’s ears shot up.  “What do you call her?”

 

“Kitten.”  Ember let out a ‘mrow’ of laughter.

 

“Seriously?” Crest asked.  Dean nodded.  The Tribe of Peaceful Sloth flooded down their mountain and into the clearing.  Sloth gracefully leapt onto the boulder and sat next to Wrath, Lust, and Envy.  

 

“What’s wrong with a nickname?” Dean asked.

 

“We think of our names as gifts from The Tribe of Endless Hunting,” Pool meowed.  “So it’s a bit…” her voice trailed off.

 

“Disrespectful, in a way,” Return finished.  Ember and Pool nodded in agreement.  

 

“How do they come from The Tribe of Endless Hunting?” Dean meowed.

 

“When we’re born, our mothers get visions from them.  The first thing the mother sees is what we’re named after,” Moon explained.  Dean nodded.  Two other cats moved towards them and looked at the group of To-Be’s.

 

“Can we sit here?” the she-cat asked.  She had amber eyes, and brown tabby fur.  Ember nodded.  

 

“Go ahead,” she meowed.  Both of them sat down.

 

The tom, who had red tabby fur and amber eyes, put his paw in front of him and bowed his head.  “I’m Red Sky on the Horizon.”

 

The she-cat quickly followed his actions.  “I’m Feather that Drifts on the Wind.”  The rest of the cats introduced themselves, the two questioned Dean and Crest’s names, and the conversation continued.

 

Red curled his tail around his paws and looked at all of the To-Be’s.  “This is the strangest group of To-Be’s that I have seen,” he meowed.  Ember and Pool’s ears flicked.

 

“Gee, thanks,” Ember meowed.  

 

“Well, you don’t usually see cats from so many Tribes together,” Feather meowed.

 

“Isn’t that the point of the Gathering?” Dean asked.  “There’s just a lot of Tribes.”  Wolf nodded.  Song slipped into the group and sat on Wolf’s other side.  Return, Red, and Feather all looked at her.

 

“Who’s this?” Red asked.  Song quickly went into the introduction gesture.

 

“I’m Song that Plays with Mountain Wind.”

 

“The Healer To-Be?” Feather asked.  The silver she-cat nodded as The Tribe of Lonely Greed raced into the clearing.  Greed was on top of the boulder with the other Healers in seconds.  Or, the new Greed.  She had dark brown fur and blazing green eyes.  They quickly followed by The Tribe of Fatal Pride.  Pride joined the Healers and nodded respectfully to their newest full Healer.  

 

“There’s a new Greed,” Song meowed.  

 

“Shouldn’t you get to know her, or something?” Ember asked.  Song shook her head.

 

“We don’t really get to talk to the other Healers until we become full Healers,” she meowed.  “And even then, Envy told me it was just small talk.”

 

“Well, you have us, at least,” Pool meowed.  Song nodded.  

 

Ember looked around the large group of cats.  “Looking for something?” Wolf asked.  Ember jumped.

 

“No, just checking if there’s any other To-Bes around.”  Dean narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.  The full moon broke over the mountains, bathing the clearing and the cats in it in silver.  

 

“The Tribe of Empty Gluttony’s late,” Song meowed.  Moon nodded.

 

“They aren’t usually,” the silver-she cat added.

 

“No Tribe is usually late,” Red hissed, his tail tip flicking.  At his words, The Tribe of Empty Gluttony flooded into the clearing.  Gluttony joined the other Healers, and Envy called the cats to listen.

 

Greed stepped forward and begun.  “As you’ve noticed, the previous Greed has joined The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  I have taken on the name Greed that Steals the Spirit and the role of Healer.”  

 

“The rest of us wish you well,” Wrath meowed.  Greed nodded to her and stepped back.  Sloth stepped forward and looked at the cats.  

 

“We have two new To-Bes, Feather that Drifts on the Wind and Red Sky on the Horizon.”  Feather ducked her head and looked around a bit nervously, and Red held his head high and proudly.  As soon as Sloth stepped back to the rest of the Healers, Feather lifted her head once again.  

 

“Prey has been running well, and we are all in good health,” Wrath meowed.

 

“We have nothing new to say,” Pride mewed.

 

“One of our Elders has joined The Tribe of Endless Hunting,” Gluttony meowed.  “Prey has been a bit slow, but we’re fine.” 

 

“A bit slow for The Tribe of Empty Gluttony is a normal amount of prey for the rest of us,” Wolf meowed quietly to Dean.  He let out a purr and nudged her.

 

“Well, that’s a bit judgemental, isn’t it?”

 

“I’ve been there, and there was a  _ lot _ of prey,” Wolf hissed.  “I felt bad for their Prey-Hunters.”  Dean let out another purr and licked her ear before turning back to the Healers.  Lust had just finished her report and Envy had stepped forward.  

 

“Wolf told us that there’s a wolf who is like her in the Wolf Tribes,” Envy began.  “She will be able to get visions of us, and will understand us.  Their name is One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl.” Murmurs spread through out the Tribes, but Pride rose his tail for silence.  

 

“If that is all the Healers have to share, than this part of the Gathering is over.”  The Healers leaped off of the boulder.  Song disappeared into the crowd of cats; Wolf guessed to go meet with the other Healers.

 

“Nice to see you again, Wolf.”  The gray she-cat turned her head to look at Passion.  The flame colored she-cat gestured with her tail for the To-Be to go over and join her.  Wolf cast a glance at Dean, nodded, and padded towards the Cave Guard.  “So, how’ve you been?”

 

“Alright,” Wolf meowed.  “Kind of hard to be part of a prophecy and all.”  Passion let out a purr.

 

“I’d kind of guessed.”  She curled her tail around her paws and looked around the clearing.  

 

“Hey, I was wondering…” Wolf let her voice trailed off as Passion looked back at her.  “There was this whole glaring thing with you, Broken, and Darkness.”

 

“Oh, that.”  Passion let out a nervous ‘mrow’ of laughter.  “All of us kind of have this thing for Pixie,” she mewed.  Wolf nodded.  

 

“So you’re all fighting over her?”  Passion nodded.

 

“None of us know who she loves, but we still fight over it.”

 

Almost as if it was like a bell went off in her brain when Passion said her name, Pixie swerved around a cat with Broken and Darkness on her tail.  “There you are, Passion!” Pixie meowed.  “Lust is about ready to leave,” she meowed, pressing herself against the bright colored she-cat.  Passion nodded and tossed a quick glance to Wolf.

 

“Bye, Wolf,” she quickly meowed as Passion padded off, following after the small she-cat.  Dean appeared next to her.

 

“That was a bit weird,” he meowed.  Wolf nodded in agreement.  

 

“They’re in a bit of a weird situation,” Wolf meowed as they both turned and went towards their Tribe’s mountain.  


	25. Family Issues

“NIGHT MOVED TO THE NURSERY," SONG mewed quietly as she pushed the rabbit to her sister.  

 

“Really?” Wolf asked, taking a bite.  She chewed a few times before she opened her mouth again.  “Who’s the father?”

 

Song hesitated as the animal was pushed towards her.  “Storm.”

 

“Storm?” Wolf almost choked before she swallowed.  “But he’s our father.  What happened with Ice?”

 

“Apparently, they had a falling out.”

 

“Ice has falling outs with everyone, even Leopard, right now.  It has to be more than that.”  Wolf turned her head to glance at the white and blue-gray she-cat that was their mother.  Even just looking at her from the other side of the pond, the Prey-Hunter could feel the anger radiating off of her in waves.  Her tail was flicking from side to side, and she was glaring at every cat that she looked at.

 

“She usually doesn’t start anything, she just over reacts to it.  Storm must have done something.”

 

“You think that this thing with Night has to do with it?”

 

“Probably.”

 

“What’re you two talking about?” The two she-cats turned their eyes to look at Leopard and Dean.  Leopard was obviously uncomfortable as Dean sat down next to Wolf.  Song sent a short, effective glare his way.  Leopard sat down.

 

“Storm, Night, and Ice,” Wolf meowed.

 

“Night just moved into the Nursery, with Storm as the father.”  Leopard’s eyes widened.

 

“But Storm is-”

 

“We know,” Wolf and Song meowed.

 

“I don’t,” Dean growled.

 

“Storm and Ice are our parents,” Song explained.  “And now, just look at Ice.”  Wolf, again, turned her eyes to Ice.  The Cave Guard stood and left the cave, with her tail lashing.  

 

“So Storm…” Dean let his voice trail off.  

 

“That’s what it looks like,” Wolf mewed.  Song finished off the rabbit and licked her paw.  

 

“We can’t know for sure, though,” Song meowed.  “All that we know is that we’ll have some half-siblings in a few moons.”

 

“Why can’t we be sure?” Leopard hissed.  “Ice might have done something.”

 

“You’re just saying that because you got into a fight with her,” Song told him.  

 

“And Ice never starts anything, she just goes overboard,” Wolf argued.  She stood up and stretched.  “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.  I’m going to go back to the den.”  Wolf started padded back to the To-Be’s den.  Before she could, she was stopped by Raven.

 

“Hey, Wolf, do you know if Dean’s guarding the cave tonight?”  Wolf shook her head.

 

“No, I don’t think so.”  His blue eyes brightened, and he nodded before he ran towards the large To-Be.  Wolf padded into the den and curled up in her nest.

 

* * *

 

_Wolf watched as Ocean’s Wave, Hawk’s Call, and Yowl clumsily made their way through the cave.  “So I’m supposed to be watching Yowl now?” She didn’t expect to get a response, and she didn’t.  She’d only seen Leaping Storm twice, and she wasn’t expecting to see him again any time soon.  Yowl stopped and looked at the she-cat._

 

_“Hey, Ocean’s Wave?” she asked.  The brown wolf looked over at his sister.  “Who’s that?” Yowl pointed her short muzzle to Wolf._

 

_Ocean’s Wave looked at Wolf and looked confused.  “There’s no one there,” he whimpered._

 

_“Yeah, there is!” Yowl growled.  “It’s small, gray and black, and has amber eyes!” Hawk’s Call shook his head._

 

_“Are you okay, Cat’s Glory?”_

 

 _“Are_ you _okay?” she asked.  “There’s something there! It’s not a wolf, but it’s something!”  Wolf stood up and padded towards them._

 

_“Shut up, will you?” she growled.  Yowl didn’t respond.  “You can’t go around telling wolves that you see me, because they can’t.  Come up with something and act like you never saw me, okay?”_

 

_“But-”_

 

 _“Sh!” Wolf hissed.  Yowl’s eyes widened._ Oh, right, she hasn’t heard cat speak, _Wolf thought.  “You’ll find everything out soon, when you start training.  That’s when I started learning and doing all this stuff.  Just calm down.”_

 

* * *

 

Wolf woke up to an angry yowl.  She stood up and looked around.  Water, the only other To-Be in the den, stood up with her.  They both ran out of the den.  All the cats in the cave were looking around.  Wolf ran out of the cave.  She heard a few other cats following her.  She glanced over her shoulder.  Song, Leopard, Dean, and Night.  When she got out of the cave, she saw Ice standing over Storm’s body.  

 

She froze in her tracks and stared.  Dean leapt forward and landed on Ice, forcing her away from Storm.  Leopard followed in his paw steps.  Song ran towards Storm, standing over him.  Wolf quickly followed, standing just in front of her father.  She kept one eye on Dean, Leopard, and Ice as she watched Song look Storm over.  

 

Dean stood over Ice with one paw on her throat.  Leopard glared at her, his tail lashing from side to side.  Song shook her head over Storm.  

 

“He’s with The Tribe of Endless Hunting now.”  Night slowly padded forward and looked down at the gray and white tom.  

 

Wolf heard her murmuring under her breath.  “No, no he can’t be, not now…”  

 

“You killed him!?” Leopard yowled, his fur puffing up and making him seem even bigger than he was already.  

 

“He’s lucky I only did that!” Ice hissed back.  

 

“Enough.”  All of the cats, except for Night (who was burying her nose in Storm’s fur) turned to look at Envy.  The tom was standing at the mouth of the cave, with the rest of the Tribe.  Wolf could even see Raven, Glint, Shade, and Place peeking out from under the cats.  “You can get off of her, Dean.  She won’t run.”  Dean nodded and stepped off of the she-cat.  Ice stood and glared at Envy, not bothering to shake off the snow that was caught in her fur.  Envy padded forward.

 

Wolf had never seen a cat that didn’t know the first thing about fighting look so intimidating.  

 

The tom stopped in front of Ice.  “The Tribe of Endless Hunting takes back the name Ice that Stopped Water.  I banish you from The Tribe of Hidden Envy.”  He turned his green eyes to his Tribe.  “Fern, Hiss, Cloud, make sure that she leaves the mountain.”  The three cats padded forward and surrounded the she-cat before herding her forward.  Envy turned back to look at Storm’s body.

 

“Wolf, Leopard, take Storm inside the cave and set him next to the boulder.”  Wolf looked at the black and orange tom before nodding.  They both padded over to the tabby.  Night lifted her head and looked at the two with watering eyes before stepping back.  Wolf and Leopard lifted his body up and supported him from both sides.  They carefully brought him to the cave as the rest of the Tribe slowly slunk back inside.  

 

When they got to the edge of the pond, Wolf adjusted Storm so that he laid across Leopard’s back.  He let out a grunt as he carefully leapt across the stones.  Wolf followed at his heels.  When they got to the other side, Wolf sank her teeth into his scruff and pulled Storm off of her brother’s back.  She laid him gently on the ground before the To-Bes went to their respective sides of the cave.  

  
Just out of the corner of Wolf’s vision, she could see Yowl watching the cats with wide eyes.


	26. The End of A Storm

WHEN WOLF TOOK A FEW HEARTBEATS to look at Yowl, she noticed a black she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye next to her.  She guessed that was her version of Leaping Storm.  She did her best to ignore the wolf, deciding to deal with her later.  Her mother had just been exiled, and her father was dead.  Now wasn’t the time for her to deal with a wolf pup.  Dean stopped next to her for a bit, pressing into her side.  He didn’t say anything, just stayed next to her until Envy appeared on top of the boulder.  When he left, Leaf took his place.  

 

“We have lost two members of our Tribe today,” Envy meowed.  “The Tribe of Endless Hunting has taken back the name Ice that Stopped Water, and she has left our tribe.  Storm that Howls With Wind has joined the ranks of The Tribe of Endless Hunting, leaving us behind to start guiding us.”  Envy leapt off of the boulder and stood next to Storm.  “We hope that he as been accepted graciously into their paws,” he added.  Glow and Fern, the Tribe’s best Prey-Hunter and leader of the Cave Guards respectively, both leapt across the stepping stones and lifted Storm up.  Envy lead the way out of the cave, Glow and Fern at his heels and the rest of the Tribe trailing after the three.

 

As soon as the two sides of the cave joined together, Dean pressed himself against Wolf again.  Leaf stayed next to her at her other side.  When Wolf glanced towards Leopard, Moon and Ash were doing to same to him.  For Song, it was Dew and Water.  For Night, it was Dawn and Strike.  

 

“You know,” Dean began in a low voice.  “When I left, the hardest part was that I was leaving some cats behind.”

 

Wolf turned her head to look at him.  “Who?”

 

“Well, me and my brother were pretty close, and there was this cat that was training to become a Med- Healer, sort of,” he meowed.  “Like a Healer, but without the leading part.”  Wolf nodded.  Leaf nudged her.

 

“Besides, we know where he’s going.  He’ll never be hungry, and it’s always The Time of Running Water.”  

 

The Tribe stopped next to a small stream, that wasn’t used much except for during The Time of Running Water, and The Time of Melting Ice.  At the moment, the ice was just starting to melt.  Gravel was covering the banks.  Envy stood over a patch of the small stones.  “This will be Storm’s resting place, with the rest of his Tribe.  It has and always will be where we have laid our Tribe members to rest, and where we send them off to join our ancestors.”

 

Glow and Fern laid Storm down, while Hiss, Flower, and Stone started digging up the gravel.  Dean gave Wolf’s ear a comforting lick while Leaf nudged her gently once again.  The gray and black she-cat watched as Glow and Fern lowered the dead tom into the grave after Hiss, Flower, and Stone finished digging it.  As soon as Glow and Fern let him go, Night, Leopard, Song, and Wolf padded forward.  All four of them sat down next to the newly dug grave.  Envy lifted a paw filled with gravel and dumped it over his body.  Wolf, Song, Leopard, and Night all followed suit.  

 

The four cats padded back into the Tribe, not saying anything.  The next group of four padded forward, each cat dumping more gravel over him until all the cats had gone a few times and all Storm was buried.  Envy leaned down close to the grave and murmured something that the rest of the tribe couldn’t hear before he turned and started padding back towards the cave.  The rest of the Tribe slowly followed.


	27. A New Level of The Tribe

WOLF GOT USED TO SEEING YOWL around the cave.  There was one point when she dragged her into the alcove in the cave, where they both talked about how they had no idea what was going on with each other and appearing with each other’s Packs/Tribes.  Both of them explained how the Packs and Tribes worked to each other when they could, and both of them agreed to call each other by the names they were given by their parents, not their ancestors.  

 

Finally, The Time of Running Water arrived, and hunting was easier for the Tribe.  Said Tribe was now gathered to watch Leaf, Water, Breeze, and Stripes become full members of the Tribe.

 

Each of the four cats were groomed to perfection, their coats reflecting the light that was already reflecting from the pool.  Each of them sat tall, waiting for the two Healers to leave their cave and leap onto the boulder.  

 

“I can’t wait to become a full Prey-Hunter,” Moon meowed.  “Then Glow will stop treating us like servants.”

 

“She still treats full Prey-Hunters like servants,” Wolf mewed.

 

“No, she treats them like _slightly better_ servants,” Moon corrected.  “There’s a very defined difference.”

 

“If you say so,” Wolf told her.  Finally, Envy and Song left their den and leapt onto the boulder.  Envy didn’t bother looking at his Tribe, and Wolf noticed that he seemed to be having a bit more trouble than usual leaping onto the boulder.  

 

“These cats have trained for four seasons, through The Time of Running Water, to The Time of Freezing Water, to The Time of Stopped Water, and to The Time of Melting Water, and finally to The Time of Running Water once again.”  Envy leapt down from the boulder, stopping in front of Stripes first.  “The Tribe of Endless Hunting looks down upon all four of you in turn.  Stripes that Mark our Ancestors, our ancestors recognize that you have worked hard in your training.  In return, they grant you a place as a full Cave Guard of our Tribe.”  Envy put one paw in front of him and bowed his head.  “May you serve us and them well.”  

 

Envy lifted his head and turned next to Breeze next.  “Breeze that Cools Night, our ancestors recognize that you have worked hard in your training.  In return, they grant you a place as a full Cave Guard of our Tribe.”  Again, he put his paw in front of him and bowed his head.  “May you serve us and them well.”

 

Next, was Water.  “Water that Shimmers with Light, our ancestors recognize that you have worked hard in your training.  In return, they grant you a place as a full Cave Guard of our Tribe.  May you serve us and them well.”

 

Lastly, and much anticipated by Moon and Wolf, was Leaf.  “Leaf that Causes Water’s Ripples, our ancestors recognize that you have worked hard in your training.  In return, they grant you a place as a full Prey-Hunter of our Tribe.  May you serve us and them well.”  Envy stood and sat down in front of the four.  “We welcome you as full members of our Tribe.”  The Tribe bowed their heads to the newest full members.  

 

“We welcome you.”  Envy turned and went back to his den with Song on his heels as the four cats went back to the edges of the Tribe.  Wolf and Moon bounded forward and stopped in front of Leaf.  

 

“It’s nice to know how our newest superior won’t treat us like a servant,” Moon meowed.

 

“Like Glow,” Wolf quickly added.  Leaf purred.

 

“Glad to know you’re enthusiastic about this,” she meowed.  

 

“Well, you’ve been a To-Be for as long as I remember,” Wolf meowed.  Raven quickly ran forward, stopping in front of Leaf.  

 

“Does it feel different now?” Raven asked.

 

Leaf purred.  “You could say that,” she meowed.  Raven had an excited look on his face.

 

“I can’t wait until I become a full member!” he meowed.  Wolf nudged him with his paw.

  
“Contain yourself, fur ball,” Moon meowed.  “You’ve got another two moons before you even become a To-Be.”

  
"Can't two moons go faster?" Raven asked.

  
"You wish it would," Wolf meowed.  Dean stopped next to the four cats.

  
"You know, if we were where I was from, you would be training by now."

  
"Really?" Raven asked, his eyes shining.  "Can you tell me about it?"

  
Dean hesitated for a few heartbeats.  "If you want me to, I guess," he meowed.

  
"Good, let's hear it," Moon meowed.  He took a deep breath.

  
"It was called MossClan," he began.


	28. Dean's Story

“MOSSCLAN?” WOLF ASKED, TILTING HER HEAD.  “That’s a weird name,” she added.

 

“Well, I thought The Tribe of Hidden Envy was a weird name, too,” Dean meowed.  Moon shrugged.  

 

“That’s fair.”

 

“Go on,” Raven urged.  

 

“Well, we have different names there.  I changed mine,” Dean started again.  “I had a brother, Fallenpaw.  Or, well, that was his name when I left.”

 

“You change your names?” Wolf ask.  Dean nodded.

 

“How?” Leaf asked.

 

“Can I use your name, Leaf?” Dean asked.  Leaf nodded.  “Well, when you were a kit, your name would be Leafkit.  When you become an apprentice, basically a To-Be, except you learn to hunt and fight.  I’ll explain, hold on,” he meowed when he saw the look on all of their faces.  “Your name would be Leafpaw, and then you get a warrior name when you’re done with training.  Like, Leafblaze, or maybe Leafstorm.”

 

“So, your name was Deanpaw when you left?” Wolf asked.  Dean shook his head.

 

“I changed my name completely, I found a kittypet and he gave me the name Dean,” he meowed.

 

“Kittypet?” Raven asked.

 

“A cat owned by another animal, called a Twoleg,” Wolf explained.  The other three nodded.  

 

“So, anyway, my mentor was named Stormflame.”  He looked at the blank looks on the faces of the Tribe cats.  “A mentor teaches you to be a warrior, in the Clans we get one cat that teaches you instead of the whole Clan.”  They nodded in unision.  “We don’t learn one thing and specialize in it, like you guys do, we learn everything we need except for healing.”

 

“You mentioned a Healer to me before?” Wolf said, but it came out like a question.  “Or, a sort of Healer? Without the leading?”  Dean nodded.

 

“A Medicine Cat,” he meowed.  “The other cat I was closest to, besides Fallenpaw and Stormflame, was the Medicine Cat apprentice.  Her name was Foxpaw.”  

 

“Foxpaw,” Wolf repeated.  “Fallenpaw, and Stormflame.”

 

“They’re weird names,” Moon meowed.

 

“But they sound cool,” Raven told them.  Leaf nodded in agreement.  

 

“Why did you leave?” Leaf asked.  “MossClan sounds like a nice place.”

 

Dean shook his head.  “Not really.  It’s a very judgemental Clan.  Foxpaw was forced to become a Medicine Cat, and not because she was chosen by StarClan, our warrior ancestors.”  

 

“Then why was she forced to become one?” Moon asked.

 

“Her fur was a really bright red.  She couldn’t hunt because animals would be able to see her before she caught them, and she couldn’t fight because she would stand out when we would try to attack.”  The cats nodded.

 

“It’s unfair, but I guess it makes sense,” Leaf meowed.  

 

“Well, I got tired of how the Clan treated her.  So, I left.  I made Fallenpaw promise to take care of Foxpaw, and I left them behind.”  

 

“And then you joined us,” Wolf finished.  Dean nodded.

 

“Woah,” Raven meowed.  “That’s so cool!” he meowed.  

 

“You mentioned that Raven would already be a To-Be there?” Leaf asked.  “How could he be?”

 

“Well, MossClan territory isn’t as dangerous as the mountains are,” he told them.  “The only things we have to protect ourselves from are the other Clans and the occasional fox or badger.”

 

“How many other Clans are there?” Wolf asked.

 

“Two.  ScarClan and LeafClan.”

 

“Hey, Leaf, Moon, Wolf!” The three Prey-Hunters turned to look at Dawn.  “What do you say we celebrate Leaf’s new position?” she meowed.  The three eagerly nodded.  

  
“You should tell us more about the Clans sometime, if you want,” Wolf quickly added the last part before she bounded off towards Dawn.


	29. The Story of Feathertail

DAWN SHOOK HER HEAD AS SHE lead the way back to the cave.  “There should be more prey now,” she meowed.  

 

“Maybe they’re running a bit late?” Wolf asked, her voice muffled by the bird in her and Moon’s jaws.  

 

“That’s happened before,” Leaf added.  Dawn shrugged.  

 

“Maybe.”  The group was silent as they dragged the bird in the cave, Wolf and Moon easily dropping it onto the caught prey pile.  Dawn padded off to go see Night in the Nursery, while Leaf went to go sit with Water.  

 

“She’s already leaving us,” Moon exaggerated a sniff, wiping at her eyes with a paw.  Wolf blinked.  

 

“She’s just over there,” Wolf meowed, gesturing with her tail towards Leaf.  Moon just nudged Wolf, a smile on her face.  

 

“I’m trying to make a joke here, Wolf,” Moon meowed.  

 

“Oh,” Wolf mewed.  She turned her attention towards the entrance to the cave as Dean staggered in with Leopard, the orange tom looking quite pleased with himself.  Dean padded over to Wolf, sitting down next to her and leaning some of his weight onto her.  Wolf had to re stance herself to make sure that she didn’t fall.  

 

“Mountain fighting is hard,” Dean complained, “How do you do it?”

 

“I don’t, I suck at it,” Wolf meowed.  Moon nodded in agreement.

 

“She really does.”  Wolf shot a glance at her friend.

 

“You do, too.”

 

“Not as bad as you do.”

 

“It’s not that hard,” Leopard meowed, padding up to the group.  “You just have to watch out for slopes.  And at least you don’t slip on the snow.”

 

“Yeah, sure, that makes me feel better,” Dean meowed.  “Save me,” he whispered to Wolf, and Wolf purred.  

 

“It’s just like hunting on a hill,” Wolf meowed.

 

“Is it, though?” Dean asked.

 

“I don’t know, I’m a Prey-Hunter.”  The black tom shook his head, taking his weight off of the she-cat and stretching.  Wolf sat up straight, licking her paw and drawing it over her ear.  Dean laid down, letting out a groan.  

 

“I knew the mountains were dangerous, but you guys have some pretty hard fighting moves,” he meowed.  “I mean, you’ve got to watch out for huge birds and other cats?”

 

“Don’t forget mountain lions,” Leopard meowed.

 

“What’re those?” Dean asked, his ears perked.

 

“They’re these huge cats that live on some mountains,” Moon explained.  

 

“We have stories about one that used to attack The Tribe of Rushing Water, named Sharptooth.”  Dean’s green eyes widened.  

 

“Really? We have a bit of that story, too!” Wolf tilted her head, interest flaring in her mind.

 

“Okay, you  _ have  _ to tell us about it,” Moon meowed, leaning forward a bit.  

 

“Well, it’s about a few different Clans,” Dean began, “ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan, and about them having to move territories.  StarClan choose some cats to go on a journey before they had to leave their territories, and on their way home they met The Tribe of Running-”

 

“Rushing,” Wolf corrected.

 

“ _ Rushing _ Water.  They confused one of the RiverClan cats, Stormfur, for his sister, Feathertail, and separated him from the other cats.   The Clan cats try to save Stormfur and go back to the cave when Sharptooth is attacking, and Feathertail dies while she saves the Tribe.”  The other To-Bes nodded, impressed.

 

“We don’t know the Clan names,” Leopard meowed.  “So I’m guessing that where you’re from there’s more stories like that.”  Dean nodded.

 

“We just have ‘cats from a distant land, in a group a kin but dissimilar to us,’” Moon meowed, doing her best to copy her mother, Wind’s, voice.  

 

“And you forgot about the prophecy about the silver cat,” Wolf added.  “But otherwise, good.”  Dean gave a playful glare up at the three other cats.  

 

“Since when was I being judged for how I told the story?” 

 

“I thought that was a given,” Wolf meowed, her ear flicking.  Dean rolled his eyes.

 

Moon stretched, letting out a yawn.  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”  She padded towards the caught prey pile, looking for something for all of them to eat.  

  
“You know,” Dean began.  “It’s hard to get used to eating one meal a day, but those birds are  _ really _ big.”  Wolf purred, cuffing him over the ear.


	30. Pack Meeting

“HEY, I WAS THINKING,” CAT’S GLORY mewed, pacing through the small cavern in The Tribe of Hidden Envy’s cave.  Wolf and her and decided that the cave made a better place to talk than with the Pack: even though they were staying where they were for now because of the pups, they moved around too much.  “You know how Dean told you about the Clans, and how you had stories about them? Well, not really about them, but about them without knowing they were about them?” Wolf nodded.

 

“Yeah,” she woofed, a rare sound for a wolf to let out.  “What about it?”

 

“What if there was something like that for us!”

 

“You mean the Packs?” Cat’s Glory nodded.  “Well, you do have loners and rogues, don’t you?”

 

Cat’s Glory blinked.  “Well, there’s the Lone Wolves, and Rose’s Aura told me that they gather once a season, but I don’t know what loners and rogues are.”

 

“Loners are peaceful cats that are on their own, and rogues are cats that are more hostile,” Wolf explained.  Cat’s Glory nodded.  

 

“The Lone Wolves sound more like a Pack to me.”

 

“They’re apparently more like organized loners.”  Wolf nodded, but still thought it sounded like a Pack.  

 

“You’re waking up,” she meowed, lifting up a paw and licking it.  The wolf in front of her was growing more and more translucent.  Cat’s Glory looked down at herself, before looking quickly back to Wolf.  

 

“Ocean’s Wave must be waking me up.  See you later, Wolf!” The Prey-Hunter nodded as the wolf disappeared, her amber eyes hanging around a few heartbeats after the rest of her had already left.  Wolf padded out of the small alcove, her tail flicking as she stretched.  

 

“Morning, Kitten,” Dean meowed, padding towards her with a yawn.  Wolf purred over at the Cave Guard.

 

“You were on the watch tonight, huh?” she asked.  He nodded.  

 

“And still, almost every cat has a story about leaving the cave,” he mewed.  “How’d you do it?”

 

“When the Cave Guards switched,” Wolf told him.  “Ash and Dew did it twice.”

 

Dean shook his head.  “You are taking your natural skills for granted.”

 

“Didn’t you?” the tom shrugged.  

 

“You could say that.”  He let out another yawn.

 

“Go get some sleep,” Wolf mewed, nudging him.  

 

“Alright, alright,” Dean meowed, padding off toward the To-Be’s den.  “See you later, Wolf.”

 

“You get some, too.”  Wolf jumped at the voice, turning to see Stone behind her.  The tome nodded towards Dean, who had just disappeared into the To-Be’s den.  “Glow wants you hunting later today,” he explained.  Wolf nodded before she went off to join the Cave Guard, curling up in her nest and falling asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

_Wolves surrounded her, some that she knew and some that she didn’t.  She also had no idea where she was: only that the wolves wouldn’t stay here for long.  Wolves were up and talking to others, and strange scents filled her nose, but no wolf attacked another._

 

_Wolf weaved between paws and legs, easily sliding her way through the bodies.  She noticed that this was a cave, and that there was some sunlight streaming down into it and lighting up the wolves bodies and the space.  A howl filled the room, calling everyone’s attention to a ledge towards the top of the cave, but not before Wolf noticed that Ocean’s Wave, Hawk’s Call, and Cat’s Glory were here, too.  Cat’s Glory’s eyes widened when she saw Wolf, and she lifted her paw a bit in greeting.  Wolf nodded back to the she-wolf before looking up at the ledge._

 

_One the ledge, she only recognized Panther’s Fall.  All the other wolves were unknown.  One was pure tan with brown eyes.  Another was reddish-gray with a white tail and dark eyes, and another was a strange, greenish-gray color with grass green eyes.  Another was a pure white she-wolf with amber eyes, while another was a dusty white she-wolf with a dark gray undercoat with gray eyes.  The last was a light gray wolf with ivy green eyes._

 

_The wolf who had howled was the reddish-gray she wolf.  “I call this meeting to order!” she howled, looking down at the wolves before her.  “I’ll let us do our normal news first before we talk about the prophecy,” she growled.  “There is no news for the Humility Pack.”_

 

This must be Rappid Fox, _Wolf thought, thinking back to when Cat’s Glory told her about all the Virtue Pack’s Alphas.  Rappid Fox took a step back, the pure tan wolf taking her place._

 

 _“The Patience Pack-”_ That’s Sandy Creek, _Wolf’s mind filled in helpfully, “has a new Omega, Raven’s Shriek, who is training to be the next Medicine Wolf.”  Sandy Creek took a step back, Panther’s Fall stepping up next._

 

_“Cat’s Claw is dead.  Rose’s Aura gave birth to three new pups, Ocean’s Wave, Hawk’s Call, and Cat’s Glory.  That is all the Kindness Pack has to say”_

 

 _Next, the pure white she-wolf stepped up, her tail flicking.  “Neck’s Feather has taken Graceful Blaze’s old place as Medicine Wolf.  Other than that, there is no news for the Temperance Pack.”_ Hail’s Glow, _Wolf thought.  Her soft voice echoed across the cave, before she took a step back and let the green wolf take her place._

 

 _“The Charity Pack has no news.”_ Jagged Grass, _Wolf thought, watching as the dusty white she-wolf took his place._

 

 _“The Chastity Pack also has no news,” she howled softly._ Feather’s Dust, _was the brief thought as the light gray wolf took her place_

 

 _“The Diligence Pack has two new Omegas, Owl’s Wing and Blazing Pine.”_ Ivy Vole. _Ivy Vole took his place back with the other Alphas as Rappid Fox stepped forward again._

 

_“Is there any new news for Howling Moon? Any wolf may step up and speak.”  Wolf looked over at Cat’s Glory, gesturing with her paw for her to go forward.  Cat’s Glory’s amber eyes widened, before she gulped and stood up and shaky paws._

 

_“I-I have something!” she let out a nervous bark, all of the wolves turning to look at her.  Rose’s Aura looked horrified._

 

_“Cat’s Glory!” she growled lowly, looking down at her pup._

 

_“But, Rose’s Aura, I do!”_

 

_“Let her speak,” Panther’s Fall growled.  Wolf padded over to the pup, sitting next to her._

 

_“Go on,” Wolf encouraged.  “I’ve told my Tribe all about you, but you probably knew that already.”_

 

_“Well,” Cat’s Glory began.  “Where she’s from, they call her Wolf that Howls at High Moon, and she lives in The Tribe of Hidden Envy.”_

 

_Hail’s Glow narrowed her eyes.  “Her name is Wolf that Howls at High Moon?”_

 

_“Well, Wolf for short, and there’s seven other Sin Tribes, that filled with… cats.”  Cat’s Glory waited for a reaction, and when she didn’t get one, she continued.  She told them about Prey-Hunters and Cave Guards and Healers, and she told them about how she lived in the mountains and she told she told them about how they knew about her.  She told them about how just like they called Wolf Howling Moon, they called her One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl, and then she waited._

 

_Nothing happened._

 

* * *

 

 

“Wolf, come on, Glow’s going to be mad,” Wolf opened her eyes with a groan and felt a warmth next to her.  Raven must be hiding from Glint, Shade, and Place again.  She sat up and yawned, letting out a ‘mrow’ of laughter when Raven fell over.  She stretched, then looked over at Moon.

  
“Alright, fine, let’s go.”   _I just hope that Cat’s Glory is okay._


	31. Cat's Reveal

“IN ROCK AND POOL, IN AIR AND…” Dean trailed off, a frustrated look on his face.

 

“Light,” Wolf helpfully supplied.

 

“Light on water, through fall of.. prey and cry of kit, through scrape of claw and beat of blood, we hear you.”  

 

Song nodded to herself.  “That was better than before.”  

 

“Does it have to be so long and complicated?” the tom meowed, flicking his tail.  

 

“That’s just how it is,” Wolf told him, shrugging her shoulders.  

 

“And this is the last ceremony you have to work on,” Song encouraged.

 

“The other ones were easy!” Dean complained.

 

“This is the only hard part,” Song countered.  “Try again.”  The Cave Guard sighed, before he recited the phrase again, flawlessly.  Wolf nodded to herself just as Song had done, 

 

“You’ll do fine during the next Telling,” she told him.  Her ears perked as she noticed a translucent, light brown wolf trying to get her attention.  “I’ll… be right back,” she meowed to Dean and Song, before she stood and padded off towards Cat’s Glory and disappeared into the alcove that she could barely fit into anymore.  They’d have to find a new place in the cave to meet soon, or maybe they could just meet outside on the mountain.

 

“Are you okay?” Cat’s Glory asked.  Wolf almost laughed.  She was asking if  _ she _ was okay.

 

“Am   _ I _ okay?” Wolf asked.  “You’re the one who just revealed to the Virtue Packs that you’re One Who Speaks in Cat’s Yowl! I got woken up right after you explained to them about the Sin Tribes, I’ve been worried about you for days!” 

 

“I thought you got hurt or something, or maybe Void dragged you out of the Pack Meeting or… or something!” 

 

Wolf tilted her head.  “Void?”

 

Cat’s Glory nodded.  “Void Filled with Unspoken Questions, she’s the one who showed me the Tribe for the first time, when Storm died, and she told me about all the new powers I’d get.  She said she used to be a Healer.”

 

“So she was your version of Leaping Storm…” Wolf mumbled to herself.  “Forget about that for now, what happened after I woke up? What did the Alphas say?”

 

Cat’s Glory’s eyes lit up.  “They’re treating me like royalty! Rose’s Aura and Gray Blaze keep telling me that I’m almost guaranteed a spot as a Beta when I’m older!”  _ Just like Cat’s Claw, too, _ Wolf couldn’t help but think.  

 

“Trust me, it’ll wear off after a while.  Do we know what the Alphas are planning?” Cat’s Glory shook her head.  

 

“A bit after a finished talking they all went into a smaller cave to start speaking, and Panther’s Fall hasn’t said anything about it.”  Wolf nodded, then looked out towards the main cave.

 

“I have to get back to Dean and Song,” she meowed.  “Good luck, Cat’s Glory,” the pup nodded.

 

“You too, Wolf!” the she-cat ducked her head as she left the cave, before she padded back towards the other two To-Bes.

 

“...how long do you think I have until I’m going to be a full member, anyway?” Dean was asking, licking a paw absently.

 

“Maybe a moon or two,” she meowed.  “Wolf and Leopard still have until the Time of Frozen Water.”

 

“Envy probably wants to make sure that you’re adjusted to the mountains,” Wolf put in as she sat back down.  “Has anyone seen Raven around? Or Shade, Glint, or Place, for that matter?”  As she finished asking her question, a shriek came from the nursery, driving out each of the four kittens.  They all had wide eyes and fur standing on end, except for Glint, who seemed much calmer than the rest.  Night came padding out a few heartbeats later, her belly round with kits that should be coming any day now.  Her fur was ruffled, and she instantly pounced (figuratively) on the much calmer Glint.

 

“Oh no,” Song meowed, her ears dropping.  “It looks like we’re starting to get a cat that knows how to prank.”  Dean purred, licking his paw.  

 

“At least it’s happening later,” he meowed.  

 

“They do only have about a moon left of being a kit, they’ll be out training in no time,” Wolf added.  “And if Glint gets good enough at pulling stealthy pranks, he’d make a great Prey-Hunter.”

 

“You think so?” Dean asked.  Wolf nodded.  

 

“As long as he doesn’t start putting thorns in my nest, I wouldn’t mind him starting training soon, either,” Song meowed.  

 

“I don’t think it’s your nest you have to worry about,” Dean grumbled.  Wolf let out a purr of amusement.


	32. Reaching, Nothing, and Noise

WOLF PADDED INTO THE CAVE, LOOKING at the bird Stone and River were carrying happily.  She didn’t know if she’d ever get tired of hunting, but that thought was quickly pushed from her mind when she heard a pain filled yowl.  She stiffened, her eyes going to the Nursery as Stone and Willow hesitated for a moment, but brought the catch over to the caught prey pile.  Dean saw Wolf and quickly bounded over.

 

“She started a little after you left,” he explained.  “Does it always echo this much in the cave?”

 

Another pain filled noise came from the Nursery.  “Willow wasn’t this loud, but maybe it’s just more painful for Night.”  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Flower looking a little nervous.  She kept shifting from paw to paw, and her eyes only flicked from the Nursery to Stone.  “Look at Flower,” Wolf put in under her breath, giving a small tail flick in her direction.  

 

Dean let out a small, nervous purr.  “It looks like we’ll have another cat moving into the Nursery,” Wolf nodded in agreement.  “What about you?” Dean asked.  “Are you excited to meet your half siblings?” the Prey-Hunter thought for a heartbeat.

 

“A bit,” Wolf meowed.  “If they’re anything like Storm is, they should be good cats.”

 

“And if they’re anything like Night?”

 

“Then they’ll be very energetic.”  Dean nodded, the pain filled sounds fading as Wolf let herself relax.  

 

“I hope it went okay,” she meowed, her tail flicking.  She felt a strong ball of fur bump into her leg and she looked down.  “Hey, Raven,” she meowed.  

 

“Hi Wolf, hi Dean!” the tom meowed, his tail flicking to the side.  “I really want to see the new kits,” he meowed.

 

“Song and Envy should come out of the Nursery soon,” Dean meowed.  “Then we can go see them.”

 

“Remember Dean, we can’t ask Night for their names,” Wolf meowed.  “We’ll find their names out at High Moon.”  Dean nodded as the Tribe’s Healers padded out of the Nursery.  Wolf stood and bounded over to her sister, hearing Dean and Raven at her heels.  

 

“Song!” she meowed, stopping in front of her.  “How did it go?”

 

“Good,” She meowed.  “I actually knew what I was doing this time, even though it seemed painful for Night.”

 

“How many kits are there?” Dean asked.

 

“Why can’t we see for ourselves?” Raven asked, tilting his head.

 

“Night just had her kits,” Wolf meowed.  “Let her sleep, we can go see them later.”  Raven nodded.

 

“There’s three of them, two toms and a she-kit,” Song answered Dean’s question before letting out a yawn.  “Would you mind if I went to take a nap?” All three cats shook their heads as she turned and padded off towards the To-Be’s den.  Wolf was surprised that she wasn’t going towards The Cave of Shining Water.

 

“So what do we do now?” Raven asked, fidgeting and moving his balance paw to paw.  Wolf could sympathize, she remembered how badly she just wanted to leave the cave on her last moon of being a kit.  She lifted her paw and swatted at Raven, easily knocking him into the pond.  Dean couldn’t hold in his laughter as Raven poked his head back up above the water, not bothering to even groom his fur as he leapt for Wolf.

 

* * *

 

 

Wolf, Dean, and Raven never got a chance to see the kits before the naming ceremony, too tired from playing to do anything but lay down, groom themselves, and rest.  The she-cat watched as Night, Leopard (who had gotten a chance to visit), and Dawn each padding out of the Nursery with a kit in their jaws.  

 

Night’s kit was a black tom with gray ears, paws and markings around his barely open green eyes.  Leopards was so alike to Storm that is was almost scary: the only difference was that he had Night’s blue eyes and some of his gray patches were out of place.  Dawn’s was a black she-kit with a white tail and black ringlets along it with white whiskers and chest and green eyes.  

 

The three cats set the kits on the boulder of the middle of the pond before sitting down on their respective sides of the Cave, Night staying with her new kits.  Wolf moved to the Prey-Hunter’s side of the cave, while Dean moved to join the Cave Guards.  Raven, Glint, Shade, and Place had all been allowed to watch this ceremony and joined their mother on the Prey-Hunter’s side of the cave.  Envy and Song quickly appeared on the top of the boulder, looking down at the four cats.

 

“The Tribe of Endless Hunting has given all of us our names,” Envy meowed, his voice echoing across the silent cave.  “They are the ones who give our mothers the visions from which we earn our names, as they have done for these kits.”  He leapt down from the boulder and looked down at the Storm copy.  

 

“This kit has been given the name Paws Reaching for Desperately Needed Items.  He will be known as Reaching.  May be pride himself on his name, as it was given to him by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  He turned to the she-kit next.

 

“This kit has been given the name Nothing Where Cats are Usually Found.  She will be known as Nothing.  May she pride herself on her name, as it was given to her by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  Finally, he turned to black and gray tom.

 

“This kit has been given the name Noise Where Silence is Needed.  He will be known as Noise.  May he pride himself on her name, as it was given to him by The Tribe of Endless Hunting.”  He lifted up his head and looked at the cats of his Tribe.  “In eight moons time, they will begin serving our Tribe.”

 

“As we have done.”

 

“But for now, it is their time to enjoy their lives.  May they learn through experience and from our ways.”  Envy turned on his heels and padded back towards his den with Song on his heels.  Leopard and Dawn padded forward and each picked up their kit, then the six cats returned to the Nursery.  Dean padded over to Wolf.

 

“Reaching, Nothing, and Noise?” he asked.  “Those are some depressing names.”

 

Wolf nodded in agreement.  “I hope they learn to outshine them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally didn't get Void, Reaching, Nothing, and Noise's names from the Welcome to Night Vale list of things. What? No...


	33. Wolf Starts Training

THE FULLY TRAINED PREY-HUNTERS had started calling Wolf a hopeless case when it came to fighting.  As soon as Dean heard that, he padded up to Screech and asked if he could take Wolf out to see if he could teach her anything (to which her response was a shrug of her shoulders and a ‘sure, why not’).  And so, the two To-Bes were now settled on a patch of grass.

 

“So, I guess I should see what I’m working with first,” Dean meowed.  “So we’ll spar.”

 

Wolf gave a nervous nod and got into a fighting stance.  She could already tell that Dean was looking forward to this a lot more than she was.  “Alright, in three… two… one!” with that, the large black tom leapt at her, and she barely had time to move out of the way before his paws hit the earth below him.  She turned to face Dean, but he had already barreled into her side.  She was sprawled on the ground, and the next thing she knew, she was pinned.  

 

Wolf looked up at the tom above her.  “Well?”

 

“They weren’t wrong,” he meowed, stepping off of her.  “You have, well… everything to work on.”

 

“Most Prey-Hunters just learn defense.”

 

“Good, then we can do that,” the black tom meowed.  He shook out his fur before he padded over to the edge of the patch of grass.  The Prey-Hunter watched as the tom thought, then nodded to himself.  “Okay, I’m going to run at you, and I want you to sweep my forelegs out from under me.”

 

Wolf nodded.  “Alright.”

 

They both got into a stance, Wolf bringing her paw back a bit to get ready to sweep him.  Dean rushed at her, and she felt herself tense.  When he was close enough, she flashed out her paw and sweeped out one of the green-eyed cat’s legs out from under him.  He wobbled a bit, which gave her enough time to jump backwards.  The black tom ran towards her again, and this time she was able to hook her paw around both legs and sweep them out from under him.

 

Dean fell against the ground with a huff.  “Good, that was good,” he meowed, his voice sounding a bit strangled as he stood up.  “Try hitting my face with your paw next.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, if we were actually fighting, you could scratch me across the face.”  Wolf nodded in response, but didn’t have time to prepare as Dean rushed at her.  She quickly lifted up a paw and tapped him on the top of his head, which was a good start to a scratch, she thought.  Dean paused and shrugged.  “It’s a good start.”

 

* * *

 

The two cats padded into the cave, Wolf’s paws dragging.  Dean seemed unaffected by the training, even though Wolf had just barely got the basics down and was exhausted.  They padded over to the caught prey pile and picked out a small-ish bird, settling down to eat it.  Raven ran over to them.

 

“Willow said that we’re becoming To-Bes a day after the Gathering!” he meowed, his tail tip flicking excitedly.  He stole a bite of the bird, then pushed it to Dean, who took a bite.

 

“That’s great, Raven,” Wolf purred.

 

“What do you think you’re going to be?” Dean asked, passing the bird to Wolf.  

 

“Glint and Shade said I was gonna be a Cave Guard,” Raven said as Wolf took a bite, then pushed it to the soon-to-be To-Be, “but Place thinks I might be a Prey-Hunter.”

 

“So you’ve all thought about this, huh?” Dean asked as Raven took a bite.  Wolf nodded.

 

“It’s a bit hard to not know what you’ll be trained as,” she meowed.

 

“Plus, once you start training, you’ll have something to do!” Raven added.

 

“And you’ll grow more,” Wolf put in.

 

“You guys really do put a lot of thought into this,” Dean meowed.  They nodded.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like everyone else, I have school. My first day got so bad that when I got home I took a five hour nap that not even food could wake me from. What I’m trying to say is that I’ll have a harder time updating.


	34. Keeping Up With The Tribes

THE CATS FROM THE TRIBE OF Hidden Envy flooded into the clearing first.  Envy padded up to the large boulder, and using all of his grace and strength, leapt to the top.  The moonlight tinted his fur silver.  Dean looked around, licking his paw.  “We’re the first of seven,” he meowed.  “Awesome.”

 

Moon nodded in agreement, looking around.  “Who do you think will be next?” 

 

“There are seven Tribes,” Song meowed.  “It’ll be hard to tell.”

 

“Oh, come on!” Dew meowed.  

 

“Place a bet!” Leopard added.

 

“The Tribe of Fatal Pride, or The Tribe of Sacred Wrath,” Wolf meowed, curling her tail around her paws.

 

“Why The Tribe of Sacred Wrath?” Ash asked, his head tilted.

 

“When they went to visit all of the other Tribes,” Song meowed, “Wrath told them that appearances were as important to them as they were to The Tribe of Fatal Pride.”  

 

“Envy told you?” Leopard asked.  Song nodded.

 

The Tribe of Fatal Pride did end up being the next Tribe to be at the clearing.  Pride leapt to the top of the boulder and gave a respectful nod to Envy before he sat down, his eyes sweeping the clearing as his cats wove between Envy’s.  

 

“Now, Song, it’s your turn,” Dew meowed.  “Pick a Tribe, any Tribe.”

 

The Healer To-Be hesitated for a heartbeat.  “The Tribe of Peaceful Sloth.”

 

Wolf blinked.  “Them?” Song nodded.

 

“Yes, them.”

 

“But they’re really lazy, aren’t they?” Dean asked.

 

“But they don’t want the other Tribes to think that.”

 

And she was right.  

 

“Okay, there’s five of us, and five more Tribes left,” Moon meowed.

 

“I’ll go next,” Ash meowed.  

 

“What are we doing?” the cats turned their heads to look at Feather (the cat who had spoken) and Red.  

 

“We’re betting on what Tribes come next,” Wolf meowed.

 

“I’m Ash of Fleeing Fire,” the tom quickly introduced.

 

“Dew on Colored Leaves,” the she-cat dipped her head.

 

“Leopard that Plays in Snow,” the tom meowed with a twitch of his ear.  

 

“Feather that Drifts on the Wind,” the she-cat meowed respectfully.

 

“Red Sky on Horizon,” the tom meowed, his paw extended.

 

“I think it’ll be…” Ash trailed off.  “The Tribe of Lonely Greed.”

 

He was wrong.  It was The Tribe of Sacred Wrath, and the group was quickly found by Ember and Crest.  

 

“Hey guys!” Ember meowed, freezing a bit when she saw Leopard.  They quickly ran through introductions.

 

“My turn, I guess,” Dew meowed.  “I guess it’ll be…” she gave a smug look to her brother, “The Tribe of Lonely Greed.”

 

She was right.

 

“Oh, come on!” Ash meowed.  “That’s not fair!”

 

“What’s not fair?” Crest asked.

 

“We’re betting on who shows up next,” Dean meowed.  “Ash bet on The Tribe of Lonely Greed last time.”

 

“Dean, you go,” Ember meowed.  “I want to see how good you do.”  The other cats nodded in agreement.

 

“Okay then,” he meowed.  “Uh… The Tribe of Lost Lust.”

 

He was wrong.  It was The Tribe of Empty Gluttony.

 

“Oh well, better luck next time,” Moon meowed.  “I’ll go with The Tribe of Lost Lust then.”

 

“There’s no more Tribes, cause Wolf took two!” Leopard meowed.

 

“There wasn’t any rules,” Wolf argued.  Ember laughed.

 

“Good job Wolf!” she padded over to her, carefully weaving around the cats to nudge her shoulder.  The Tribe of Lost Lust filtered down the mountain and into the crowd.  Return and another cat, a red tom with a white face and green eyes, padded towards them and sat down.

 

“Who’s this?” Crest asked.

 

The tom dipped his head and extended his paw.  “I’m Lizard that Lies in Sun,” he meowed in a quiet voice.

 

“Who’re they?” Return asked, narrowing her eyes at Dew, Ash, and Leopard, who quickly introduced themselves.  She nodded, before going into the greeting posture.  “I’m Return of The Bugs.”

 

“So,” Moon meowed.  “Wolf, Song, Dew, and me are the winners!” she added happily (when Lizard quietly and politely asked ‘of what’, Song explained the game to him and Return).  A yowl called their attention to the boulder.

 

All seven leaders were sitting patiently on the boulder, their tails or ears flicking.  Pride stood.

 

“I’ll go first,” he meowed.  “Prey is running well, and we have a new litter of kits.”

 

Lust stepped forward.  “We also have a new litter of kits, and our survival has never been better.”

 

Greed smoothly stood.  “We have three new full members, Place that You May Never Return, Aspen that Fell in Honorable Battle, and A Home that Never Was.”

 

Gluttony flicked her tail before speaking.  “We also have two new full members, Evening Sun Casting Final Shadows, and Never Melting Snow Frozen onto Paws.”

 

Sloth flicked an ear impassively.  “There is nothing new to share.”

 

Wrath stood next.  “We are also fine.”

 

Envy stood.  “We have a new litter of kits, and Leaf that Causes Water’s Ripples, Water that Shimmers with Light, Breeze that Cools Night, and Stripes that Mark our Ancestors are now full members.”

 

The To-Be’s turned back to look at each other.  “Busy moon for The Tribe of Hidden Envy, huh?” Pool asked.  The cats from that Tribe nodded in agreement.


	35. Two Of Each

Wolf watched as Raven, Shade, Glint, and Place were all groomed mercilessly by their mother and father.  Song and Leopard were settled on either side of her, waiting for the ceremony to start.  

 

“I think Envy will make-”

 

“Spoilers!” Leopard hissed, interrupting his sister.  “We can’t have any of those!”  The silver she-cat blinked, then let shook her head while letting out a sigh.

 

“If you say so.” 

 

Wolf turned her head to look at the other she-cat.  “How do you feel about being Healer now, by the way?” she asked.  “You didn’t really want to be Healer when you started.”

 

Song let out a small purr.  “It’s better now that I’m getting better at everything.  Herbs are complicated since there are so many, and we have to watch for the slightest movement because anything could be a sign from The Tribe of Endless Hunting.  How’s your training going?”

 

“It’s great!” Leopard meowed.  “The only cat better than me at training is Dean, but that’s only cause he has the moves he learned from here and the ones from… wherever he’s from.  Moss something or other.”

 

“MossClan, I think,” Wolf put in.  “Mine’s fine.  Hunting’s been going pretty well, and since Dean heard that the Prey-Hunters were calling me a hopeless case when it came to fighting, he picked up on it.  I think he’s teaching me MossClan tactics.”

 

They watched as the four cats leapt across the stepping stones, towards the boulder at the middle and sat fidgeting.  

 

“Well, I better get to the rest of the Cave Guards,” Leopard meowed.  “See you later,” he meowed.  Wolf nodded, padding off to join the Prey-Hunters.  She sat down next to Moon.

 

“I’m telling you,” she was meowing to Leaf, “Glints going to be a Prey-Hunter.”

 

Leaf shrugged.  “If you say so, but he seems a bit on the fence to me.”

 

They didn’t have any more time for debate as Envy came out from The Cave of Shining Water.  Song joined him at the center of the cave.  

 

“The Tribe of Endless Hunting has dictated that when a kit reaches the age of eight moons, they are to become a To-Be.  These three kits have reached that age.  It is time for these cats to leave kithood behind and serve our Tribe,” Envy meowed, the speech practiced.

 

“As we have done.”

 

Envy’s eyes landed on Shade.  “Shade that Is Given Through Leaves, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you speed and agility.  She is to be a Prey-Hunter.”  Shade stood and leapt across the stones, sitting down next to Wolf.  

 

“Glint that Shines from Abyss, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you stealth and speed.  He is to be a Prey-Hunter.”  Glint got a happy look in his eyes as he followed after his sister, sitting down next to her.  

 

“Raven Feather Found on Stone, The Tribe of Endless Hunting Gave you strength and courage.  He is to be a Cave Guard.”  Raven cast a glance over to Wolf, looking a bit remorseful, but shaking it off as a happy look took it’s place and he bounded over to sit next to Dean.

 

“Place Where Snow Has Fallen, The Tribe of Endless Hunting gave you strength and white fur to blend into the snow.  She is to be a Cave Guard.”  Place followed after her brother, giving Raven a happy nudge when she sat down.  

 

“We welcome these cats as To-Bes of The Tribe of Hidden Envy,” the Healer meowed, his eyes gazing over the gathered Cats.

 

“We welcome you.”

 

Wolf looked over at Raven, who was happily talking with Dean and Place before she got nudged by Moon.  “Look at our own newbies!” the silver she-cat hissed playfully.  Wolf quickly turned her attention to Glint and Shade.  

 

“Do you like being a Prey-Hunter?” Glint asked happily.  Wolf nodded.

 

“Hunting’s pretty fun,” Moon meowed.  

 

“And I like working with the other Prey-Hunters,” Wolf added.

 

“Do you think learning everything will be easy?” Shade asked.  “Willow said that learning the hunting crouch was pretty easy.”

 

The four cats started padding toward the cave entrance.  Stone, Screech, River, Dawn, and Leaf were waiting for them, along with Cloud, Fang, and Strike.  Dean, Place, and Raven were padding towards the group as well.  

 

“You should find it interesting,” Wolf meowed.  

 

“You two go have fun, now!” Moon added, nudging the two new To-Bes forward with a paw.  “Me and Wolf will have nice, comfy nests ready for you when you get back!”

 

Glint’s eyes lit up.  “Thanks!” he meowed, before dashing off to go see the Prey-Hunters and Cave Guards.  Shade let out a sigh before she followed her brother.


	36. Paw Print

Wolf looked over at the bird that Glow and Willow were carrying.  Glow had decided, that since Willow had been lying around taking care of kits for the past eight moons, she immediately had to go out hunting.  Wolf could could feel the small rabbit in her own jaws thudding against her chest: no bird came down to catch it, and she wasn’t about to let it go to waste.  Glow wasn’t impressed.

 

The group padded into the cave, padding their way to the fresh-kill pile and dropping off their catch.  Moon flicked her tail.  “Dean, Raven, and Place are back,” she meowed.  Wolf lifted her head and looked over at the Cave Guards, and the Prey-Hunters padded over to them.  Wolf sat down next to Dean and curled her tail around her paws, looking at the smaller cats.  

 

“How was training?” she asked.  Raven jumped to his paws.  

 

“It was great!” he meowed.  “Strike taught us some moves she’d used as a loner!” 

 

“Really?” Moon asked.

 

Place nodded.  “The other Tribes won’t know what hit them when they see us coming!” she meowed.  

 

“And when we were heading back to the cave, we saw this really big paw print!” Raven added.  Wolf tossed a concerned glance toward Dean, who shared the same kind of look with her.

 

“I mean, obviously it wasn’t from a cat, but we get to chase something off! Well, once we’re trained a bit more,” Place meowed.  

 

“Did Strike say what it was?” Moon asked.

 

Place shook her head.  “She just kept muttering something.”  

 

Wolf looked towards the camp entrance.  “Are Shade and Glint back yet?”  Dean shook his head.

 

“Maybe they’re showing them the best hunting spots,” he suggested.  Moon shrugged.

 

“They could be, but they don’t usually do them all in one day.”  

 

“They’ll be back soon,” Raven meowed.  “You guys usually stay out later than the Cave Guards do for training.”  

 

“We are?” Wolf asked.

 

Dean nodded.  “You are.”

 

“Can we get something to eat?” Moon asked.  “It’s about meal time, and I’m starving!”

 

“Shouldn’t we wait for Shade and Raven?” Wolf asked.

 

“They’re late, I’m hungry,” Place argued.  “Food before friends!” she meowed, before rushing towards the fresh-kill pile.  Raven followed at her heels, and the other To-Bes followed slower behind them.  The two Cave Guards picked out a large eagle, lifting it out of the pile.  They led the way over to the pond and settled down.  Place took a bite before pushing it to Raven.  “What’s it like hunting?” she asked.

 

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” Moon meowed.  Wolf nodded in agreement.

 

“I guess that you just have to have done it to know,” she meowed as Moon pushed the bird to her.  She took a bite before pushing it to Dean.  

 

“Hey, Dean, you know how to hunt  _ and _ how to fight,” Raven meowed.  “Which group do you think is better, Cave Guards or Prey-Hunters?”

 

“Uh…” Dean began, looking nervously from cat to cat.  “Do I have to answer that question?” 

 

“Yes,” Wolf meowed.  “At least, now that you’ve asked if you had to answer it.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that’s how it goes,” Moon agreed.  

 

“Tell us! Tell us!” the younger Cave Guards cheered.  

 

“Well…” Dean began, a bit nervously.  “Cave Guards don’t learn to hunt, so Prey-Hunters have more of a chance outside of the Tribes,” he told the cats.  Wolf and Moon smiled to themselves while arguments rose up amongst Place and Raven.  

 

The cats turned their heads and stopped speaking as Shade and Glint’s patrol walked in, the two To-Be’s carrying a bird so large that they couldn’t carry it in their jaws: it was propped in their backs, with the tips of its wings dragging on the ground.

 

“Woah,” Moon meowed.

 

“That’s awesome,” Dean added.  Cats crowded around the To-Bes, congratulating them on their catch, who seemed all two happy with the praise.  Eventually, the two made their way over to the other To-Bes.  

 

“Did you see our bird?”  Glint asked, a smile on his face.

 

Wolf nodded.  “It was very impressive,” she meowed.  

 

“I’ve never seen anything that big!” Moon added.  

 

“Don’t you usually…  _ not _ catch prey the first time you try to hunt?” Shade asked, her eyes narrowed.

 

“Aw, is someone jealous?” Moon teased.

 

“Prey-Hunters hunt in large groups for a reason,” Wolf explained, “We use multiple cats to take down birds.”

 

Dean pushed the almost finished bird towards the younger Prey-Hunters.  “You two can finish it, it’s almost done, anyway.”  Wolf stood and stretched, her paws reaching out in front of her.

 

“I’m going to go to sleep,” she meowed.  “I’ll see you four later.”


	37. The Second Paw Print

_ “Everywhere we go, we just seem to be getting closer and closer to the creatures!” A pure white she-wolf with dazzling blue eyes growled.  “Panther’s Fall doesn’t know where to go!” _

 

_ “Feather Cloud, calm down,” another wolf , a light gray one with dusty brown eyes, told her, his eyes going towards the Pack that had been called to attention by her growling.  Wolf thanked The Tribe that Panther’s Fall wasn’t in their camp at the moment. _

 

_ “How can I calm down?” the Gamma growled, ignoring the Pack.  “The One Pack better know what they’re doing with this Howling Moon thing…”  _

 

_ “Of course they do!” the other wolf growled back.   _

 

_ “Ash Song, what do  _ you _ know about the One Pack that I don’t?” Feather Cloud asked. _

 

_ “I know I have more faith in them then you do,” with that, Ash Song padded away with an angry flick of his ear.  Wolf padded through the crowd, looking for Cat’s Glory, or one of her littermates, but she couldn’t see them.  She sniffed the air, and through all the scents of the wolves she could distinguish the scents of Cat’s Glory, Ocean’s Wave, and Hawk’s Call.  She padded after the scents, which lead outside of camp.  With another sniff of the air, she could smell Panther’s Fall, Roses’s Aura, and Gray Blaze.   _

 

_ Wolf took off at a run, following after the scents.  It didn’t take her long to catch up to the Alpha, the Beta, and the Gamma, but she kept running forward.  She turned a corner, following the scents and almost running into Ocean’s Wave. _

 

_ “Wow, that’s a really big paw,” Hawk’s Call murmured.  Cat’s Glory looked up at Wolf, blinking. _

 

_ Wolf leaned over to look at the paw, which was much larger than hers; even larger than the wolves paws. _

 

_ “Panther’s Fall, Rose’s Aura, and Gray Blaze are looking for you,” she told Cat’s Glory.   _

 

She didn’t have time to say anything else before she woke up, with a gentle prodding from Dean.  “C’mon, Kitten,” he meowed.  “We should do some more fighting today,” he added.  Wolf let out a grumble of complaint, turning over.

 

“Wolf,” Raven drew out the word.  “You have to get up.”

 

“No.”

 

“There’s only one solution to this problem,” Moon meowed.  “Raven! Place! Glint! Shade! Get her!”

 

Wolf didn’t have much time to react before she felt cats climbing on her, and one cat had just flopped down on her tail.  Wolf opened her eyes and looked up at Dean, who was sitting in front of her.

 

“Save me,” she meowed weakly.

 

“Will you get up if I do?” Dean asked.  She nodded.

  
“You heard her, off you go,” Moon meowed.  The weight was relieved, and Wolf sat up, letting out a yawn.  


	38. Fighting and Hunting

THE PAW THAT HIT HER FACE didn’t hit hard, but it was still enough for her to have to shake her head to clear it. She looked at the black cat in front of her, her amber eyes narrowed as she glared. The tom only gave her a sheepish look in return, slowly setting his still-raised paw on the ground.

“You were supposed to dodge, Wolf,” he meowed.

“Well, I didn’t,” Wolf meowed, flicking her tail in irritation. “I’m a Prey-Hunter Dean, not a Cave Guard.”

“I’m hoping to turn you into a somewhat decent fighter,” Dean told her. “C’mon, let’s try again.”

With a sigh, Wolf got back into the fighting stance that Dean had taught her. Her legs were arranged in a somewhat awkward position- as a cat used to leaping and crouching, she was unprepared for the spread out stance needed for fighting. Still, using the awkward stance made fighting easier. Dean looked much more comfortable in his stance.

“Ready?” the tom asked. Wolf took a deep breath before nodding.

Dean didn’t waste anytime before he rushed for her, a paw in the air. Wolf leapt backwards, her eyes fixed on the open space of the tom’s body that was now open to her. With a lunge, she leapt for the tom. Her paws hit his shoulder, and the two fell to the ground. Dean let out a huff of air. “Perfect!” he meowed. “Now get off me.”

Wolf took a step back, allowing the other To-Be to rise to his paws. “I still like hunting better,” she meowed.

“You always say that,” Dean meowed. “C’mon, let’s head back to the cave.”

“Sorry,” the two cats turned their heads to look at a silver she-cat. Her tail was flicking back and forth. “But Willow wants us to go hunting.”

“How long have you been there, Moon?” Wolf asked, perking her ears.

“Long enough to watch you take down Dean,” the older To-Be meowed. “We’re meeting Glow towards the top of the mountain, so let’s go!” Moon turned tail and started leaping up the mountain. The place Dean had chosen for the fighting training this time, one of their usual spots, was only accessible by leaping up and down large boulders. Wolf dipped her head to the tom before she bunched her muscles, landing on the first boulder.

The harsh mountain wind blew against her fur, pushing it the wrong way. It whistled in her ears as she made her way up the mountain that was her home. The smell of cold, fresh air hit her nose. Wolf couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the world, and she wouldn’t want to.

Glow was sitting on a flat stone towards the top of the mountain, Dawn, Willow, and Glint were sitting next to her. Raven, Place, Cloud, and Strike were sitting below the stone.

“Good, you’re here,” the snow white she-cat meowed, rising to her paws. “We have hunting to do.” Glow leapt off of the boulder, the small black and white tom quickly following after her. Willow and Dawn followed slower then the To-Be. Willow took a step forward.

“We’ll start at the top of the mountain, then go to towards the bottom,” the black she-cat meowed. She turned her odd-colored eyes towards Moon and Wolf. “You two are half way through your training- I want both of you to take more a of a lead on this hunt.”

“Really?” Moon meowed. Willow nodded.

“Go on,” she urged. “There won’t be many hunting parties out today, so we can take our time and catch as much as possible.” Moon and Wolf looked at each other before opening their jaws to sniff the air.

* * *

The To-Bes took the pace slow, carefully making their way down the mountain and sniffing every-so-often. Occasionally, Dawn or Willow would sent them in a different direction, but for the most part Wolf and Moon led the way. So far, Glint, Dawn, and Willow at caught a bird together, and Glint had caught a rabbit by himself.

Wolf saw a mouse hidden behind a stone, it’s head occasionally poking its head over it. She dropped into a crouch, waiting for a bird to fall out of the sky. Her ears picked up the sound of a bird’s call, and a heartbeat later she watched it’s talons grip the small animal. She didn’t hesitate to leap for the bird, digging her claws into it. Moon leapt up next to her, and she could see Dawn and Willow holding onto it’s wings. They quickly fell to the ground, and Glow dealt the killing blow.

“Alright, let’s head back,” Dawn purred. Wolf and Moon hoisted the large bird up on their backs, making their way back towards the cave with the other Prey-Hunters and Cave Guards in tow.

**Author's Note:**

> Depending on where you live, you might have heard about the seventeen year old kid who was hit and killed on September 21st. The person who got hit was my older brother.
> 
> I'm not really okay, but I feel better when I'm doing something, so I'm not putting any of my stories on hiatus. When I have the time to write, I'd actually expect more updates, but that also depends on that day and how I'm feeling.
> 
> Scott was a great brother. He played guitar (he was amazing at it), he couldn't handle jumpscares, the only name we could agree on for our future cat (that I now have) was Moon Unit, I had to pay him so he would stop saying 'bow down to your president' (but I also got a Sunkist out of that dollar), and he would never leave a room I was in without saying 'bye' twice.
> 
> If you want to learn more about him as a person, go read by two-shot Bow Down To Your Leader. I originally wrote it for a competition thing, but I also didn't want his personality to get lost in all the news stories.


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